Book 6: The Spirit World
by Kuaishu
Summary: BEING REWRITTEN - now known as Spirits: Book One - The Avatar State. New story/rewrite can be found on my authors page.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For any new readers not familiar with my Spirits Fanon, this is the third part in the trilogy, and without reading Book's 4 and 5 you may find yourself somewhat lost. It can, of course, be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading Book 4: The Avatar and Book 5: The Face Stealer first.**

**To my old readers, it's good to see you again! I had planned a bit of a break before starting any of Book 6, but it was mentally impossible! And for those that are wondering, don't worry, we'll get back to Suki soon.**

**Happy reading!**

"You know, if you need to rest that's fine. I'm not going to be thinking any less of you."

It had been several hours since two young travelers found themselves in an altogether strange and unfamiliar world. One, dressed in a sleeveless tunic, a red robe thrown over his shoulder, using a long stick to compensate for the bad limp in his right leg, trudged onwards with a somewhat grim determination on his face. Beside him, her pace slowed to stay in line with him, a young woman with long brown hair walked, hands holding onto the straps of her pack that sat high on her back.

"I'm fine," the young man replied, shrugging his shoulders to settle his own heavy pack more comfortably on his back. The woman cocked an eyebrow, her eyes darting from the sweat beaded on his temple and the notable limp in his gait.

"Yes yes, you've bravely soldiered on for much longer than you need to," she scoffed. "Though personally I don't think that's admirable, just stupid. Come on, we both know that this sign or whatever it is you're looking for doesn't have anything to do with how far we travel."

The man stopped, looking at their surroundings before letting out a submissive sigh. Katara, at least, hadn't known what to expect when the pair of them had stepped into the decaying portal back in the South Pole, leave the mortal world far behind them, but Aang had arrived fully expected to see some clear sign of what he should do next and the direction he should head. He had been disappointed, however, to find himself standing in what appeared to be a cave crafted entirely from ice, the blood trail that had been so prominent back in the mortal world completely absent. Though encouraged that both he and Katara had been transported in one piece, with their minds for the most part intact, he hadn't been able to fight the bitter disappointment that had settled in when he looked about them. Katara had turned to him, placing a hand on his arm, silently questioning their next move, and with a nod he had led them forwards, out of the ice cave into a rather barren and unwelcoming landscape. Over rock and under an orange sky the pair had walked, Katara watching him with growing concern whilst the Avatar simply prayed that some clue or sign would come to him.

"Look, I realised hours ago that you have no idea where you're going. We're both tired and you can hardly walk, let's stop and gather ourselves a bit before we go any further."

Beaten, Aang looked across at her. Though her tone was droll, her large blue eyes cast over him with concern.

"Alright," he mumbled, his shoulders slumping. Katara looked around them, looking for some form of shelter on the flat, dull landscape. Spotting some large jagged rocks forming an overhang not far ahead of them she grabbed his arm and pulled him forwards. If he wasn't so exhausted he probably would have found Katara's authoritative directing quite adorable, but instead he shuffled after her, no longer bothering to hide the wince that came with each step. As they reached the overhang, the pair pulled their heavy packs from their backs, dropping him to the ground. Aang didn't wait for Katara to pull the sleeping bags from her pack before he dropped to the ground, groaning as he stretched out his leg and resting his back against the rock. Holding one of the sleeping bags Katara looked at him with worried eyes.

"You've taken on way too much too soon, Aang," she said, though her tone was soft and comforting. She draped the bag over him, and he looked up her with a smile of gratitude before she once more looked around them. "There's some water over there. Stay here and I'll see if another healing session will help with the pain."

Aang very much wanted to reach out and pull her back. Though he could see the thin stream not too far from them on the flat rock he none-the-less felt more than a little uncomfortable with her going anywhere without him. They had yet to encounter any other life at all in their short journey, but he wasn't about to let himself be fooled into any sense of safety. The Avatar in the spirit world was one thing, but his very mortal and spiritless girlfriend was another matter entirely. But before he could do anything, she had walked off, and he could only watch with baited breath as she made her way to the stream. He held his breath the entire time, only exhaling once she was back with him, a small cup full of water in hand. She dropped to his side, reaching forward to pull back the sleeping bag. She glanced up at him apologetically.

"Trousers."

"I sure hope a spirit doesn't waltz up about now," Aang grumbled, untying his sash. All of Sokka's old tunics may be sleeveless, but he found himself thankful that they were at least longer than most.

Katara soon set to work, bending the water around his thigh, covering the fresh pink scars as it began to glow. Aang hissed and gritted his teeth as the pain intensified at first, but let out a puff of relief as the sharpness eased into little more than a dull ache. For five minutes she worked on him, easing the water up to his hip to try and lessen the impact his limp had on his joints, before skillfully dropping each drop back into the cup.

"Thank you," he said, retying his sash and leaning back against the rock wall once more.

"I just wish you hadn't pushed yourself so hard," she sighed in return. "If you don't rest and let this heal it might never get better."

"It'll get better, I'm the Avatar," he flashed her a crooked grin and she rolled her eyes. She reached into her pack and pulled out some kindling, holding it out for him as he gladly obliged and lit the end of one of them. He watched her as she set about making them some dinner, his stomach suddenly churning with guilt.

"You don't have to do that," he said, leaning forwards and offering to take the pot of rice. She pulled it away from him.

"Didn't I just tell you to rest?"

"Well, technically you said if I didn't rest then my leg might not getter," he quipped with a grin. She shook her head, continuing to set up a cup of rice and water over the fire to boil. "Seriously, Katara, you've done more than enough today already."

"I don't have a problem cooking us some dinner, Aang." She grabbed a couple bowls and placed them between them. "But if it bothers you so much you can make it tomorrow, deal?"

Aang sighed, relenting, leaning back against the rock. He watched her as she worked, stirring the rice in the pot, her movements so elegant and strong, a slight crease in her brow. She pushed her hair back behind her ears and he smiled, wondering how so simple a movement could be so beautiful to him.

"Grubs up," she announced, spooning rice into their bowls. Aang looked away quickly, hoping she hadn't caught him staring at her, though the slight blush on her cheeks suggested otherwise. Gratefully he took his bowl and chopsticks, his stomach growling in anticipation. Neither of them, in their confused states, had realised quite how hungry they were. It had been two days, at least, since Aang had eaten anything.

"So, what do we do?" Katara asked, her blue eyes flicking towards his. He avoided her gaze, suddenly finding his bowl or rice very interesting. He stabbed at his rice a few times before she gently said his name.

"I don't know," he admitted, his throat constricted. "It was supposed to make sense once we got here, but I can't even seem to speak to Roku. I thought maybe if we kept walking we'd find Tonrar's trail or one of the past Avatar's, but instead we've just found rock, rock and more rock." Bitterly he looked out at the stoney landscape. "When I was passed out I thought I heard Roku and Yangchen. There was another voice too, Sansetsu. It seemed like he was supposed to tell me what to do about Tonrar."

"Who's Sansetsu?" Katara placed her empty bowl on the floor, grabbing her own sleeping bag and draping it over her lap.

"He's one of the airbending Avatar's before me. He might have been the one before Yangchen but I'm not sure. I read about him in one of the scrolls we found at the Eastern Air Temple." He looked over at her. "I thought you might have liked it, actually. It was saying how the Southern Water Tribe used to be almost as spiritual as the air nomads."

"I suppose if you go back far enough all of the nations must have been spiritual to a degree," Katara wondered. "I'm sure this Sansetsu will turn up, Aang. Roku's always pulled through for you in the past, hasn't he? I can't imagine this Avatar will be any different. He's an air nomad after all." She nudged him gently, a smile on her lips, and Aang nodded, momentarily cheered by her positivity.

"I guess you're right."

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep?" She asked gently, nodding to his leg. Aang stretched it out more, relieved at only the smallest ache, and nodded.

"I think so." He cast a dark glare across their surroundings. "Though I'd feel better if I stayed on lookout."

"Aang, Tonrar isn't going to sneak up on us here," Katara reasoned. "And if he did I'm sure you'd feel him coming long before he reached us. Get some sleep, you need it."

Truthfully, he was exhausted, and now that his stomach was full and the fire blazed he could already feel his eyelids start to grow heavy. He didn't care to admit to her just how difficult the past few hours had been, and the genuine fear that his leg had been damaged beyond any chance of a full recovery, but as he sat in an almost silent landscape, his entire body a dull ache, he began to realise that staying strong wasn't always the best choice. Katara watched him closely, clearly aware of the conflict behind his eyes, and she reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

"If I hear or see anything, or even think I do, I will wake you up straight away," she promised. With a heavy sigh he nodded, before resting his head back and closing his eyes. Sleep took him almost immediately.

~

_You can't stay here._

_You can't hope to catch him._

_Whilst you fight against the Avatar State you fight against us._

_Keep searching._

_You have to keep walking._

_We can't come to you._

_You have to come to us._

~

He woke with a start, his eyes snapping open with a sharp intake of breath. _I don't know where you are_, he thought as his eyes searched blindly. _And I can't use the Avatar State. Roku I don't understand what you want_. Then as his eyes began to adjust to the bright light, his fog of confusion fading away, his memory of the words that had been spoken to him started to fade, replaced by an understanding of his present situation. He was in the spirit world, the orange sky swirling slowly above him, and an endless landscape of hard rock below him. He raised a hand to his head, rubbing hard against his forehead to try and clear what remained of the fog. As he pulled his hand away, he grew aware of a weight across his legs and looked down. At some point Katara had fallen asleep, and she lay with her head across his lap, snoring lightly with her mane of hair across her face. Despite waking from what must have been quite a fitful nights sleep, his body still aching, a smile rose to his lips as he looked down at her and her somewhat inelegant form. He had learned early on that Katara, in all her beauty, wasn't your sleeping princess, delicately placed on top of her soft sheets, hair neatly in place around her and, if possible, he had found he adored her even more because of it. Still smiling to himself he reached forward, gently brushing her hair from her face, and with a small moan she began to stir. She yawned, stretching her arms forward, before rolling onto her back to look at him. For a blissful moment they just smiled at each other, peace filling their hearts, before she pulled herself up, running a hand through her thick hair.

"I'd ask what time it was but I'm not sure it really matters for much here," she said, looking around. "Did you sleep well?"

"I think sleeping against the rock wasn't one of my better decisions," he replied, sitting up and groaning as he stretched out his back. "But I feel better."

"Good." Katara began to hunt in her pack, frowning as she pulled bedding and clothes aside. "So, what's the plan today?" She asked, somewhat distractedly.

"We keep walking," Aang replied without any hesitation. Katara froze, looking back at her shoulder at him, her expression questioning. "I had another dream last night," Aang explained. "Well, I think I did. I don't remember any of it, really, but I have the strong feeling that we just have to keep walking."

Katara sighed, at last finding what she was looking for and beginning to drag the comb through her hair. "You and your feelings," she teased, rolling her eyes. He felt an unusual sense of daring at her sarcasm, and threw himself forward, grabbing her round the waist and turning so that she fell on his lap. She yelped in alarm, though soon began to laugh as he peppered kisses along her jawline.

"My feelings are usually right," he said through a wide grin.

"I'm trying to comb my hair," she said, placing her palm against his face and pushing him back with a giggle. Aang shrugged.

"It's looks fine as it."

Katara deadpanned. "My comb is stuck in it."

"Really? I thought that was some sort of hair clip."

"Shouldn't we really be focusing?" She asked pointedly, though a slight smirk still played across her lips. Aang let out a heavy sigh.

"I suppose. It's just ..." he squeezed her tighter, "I missed being able to do stuff like this. I missed you."

Katara smiled sadly. "I know. Me too."

He hesitated, his fingers playing with the hem of her sleeve. "Do you think, I mean, shouldn't we talk about it? You know, what happened?" Katara blushed suddenly, looking down at her lap.

"I dunno, it just seems so silly now. I mean, you know how my dad is. Ever since the War ended he's been so over protective of me, I guess maybe he feels guilty for leaving me and Sokka behind like that. And he's always been a bit ... odd about us. Not like he didn't like that we were together," she added quickly, sensing the way Aang had tensed. "He's always liked you, Aang. More that he worried about us all the time. Worried about the sort of trouble we'd get into." She looked up at him dolefully. "I didn't think you'd actually listen to him when he told you to stay away."

He looked at her abjectly, his sorrow clear on his face.

"I just didn't want you put you in any more danger," he whispered. "After what happened in the South Pole I ..." he swallowed, shaking his head. "I wanted to kill all of you. I don't remember everything Tonrar made me feel, but I remember that. After the War I began to accept that being the Avatar wasn't such a bad thing after all. I got to meet you, and Zuko, Sokka, Toph ... I could explore the world. I knew exactly who I was. But the things Tonrar made me think, what he made me want to do? It made me realise that there's a dark side to being the Avatar, and you've all seen it." He sighed. "I just didn't want you to get hurt."

Katara raised her hand to his cheek, turning his face so face hers. "But you're the one who keeps getting hurt, Aang," she said softly. "Not me." Aang frowned slightly. "We know what the Avatar State is capable of, but we'd never abandon you. We stuck by you, but you were the one that kept pushing us away and trying to deal with everything on your own. Avatar or not you're still just one person, you can't take on the whole world by yourself!" She took her hand from his cheek, placing it against his chest. "I guess the real reason it fell apart between us is because I thought that everything that had happened had changed the way you felt about me."

"No," Aang interrupted quickly, taking her hand. "That never changed. It never could."

"But you were willing to let me go," she said, her breath quickening. "And then you started keeping things from me and lying to me. I wasn't really sure what I was to you any more."

Aang squeezed her hand, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I never meant to make you feel that way. I just didn't know how I could live with what I almost did to you, and I thought that by trying to deal with all this myself I could protect you." He glanced around them. "I guess that wasn't one of my best decisions either," he said sheepishly. She laughed softly. "I never loved you any less, you're everything to me, and you always will be."

Her deep blue eyes, sparkling with tears, gazed into his emotional grey ones and she smiled. Smiling back Aang pressed his forehead against hers and the pair embraced tightly. They remained there for a few moments before Katara regretfully pulled away.

"We should probably get on with that walking thing you were talking about."

Aang let out a puff of air, showing his disappointment, before nodding. "Yeh, I guess we should. Though frankly I'm a little peeved that my past lives are having us walk so far, it doesn't make sense."

Katara smirked. "It's all spirit mumbo jumbo, it never made sense." Aang made to argue, before shrugging in defeat.

The pair walked for another full day, both relieved as the rocky landscape began to slowly morph into something more much more greenery and shelter from the oppressive orange sky. However, the shifting turf below them began to make their passage much more difficult. No longer had they a flat surface to walk across, but steep jumps and fatefully hidden cracks and stones that they had each tripped on at least once. They also began to notice a growing heat the more and more vegetation they found themselves surrounded by, and before long they had discarded their robes to the back of their packs, sweat beading on their foreheads as they part walked, part climbed. For Aang, it was understandably difficult. The longer they walked the more the pain returned and the greater his limp became, but Katara seemed to be struggling also where the day before she had practically glided across the rock. Watching her it seemed as though her pack was growing heavier and heavier with each step, and as they reached their fifth or sixth hour Aang had deliberately come to a halt.

"Is your leg hurting too much?" She asked, though he could tell that she was relieved to have stopped.

"A little," Aang confessed. "But I'm worried about you. Are you ok? You look like your struggling."

"I do feel a bit tired," she said. "I think maybe I just didn't sleep very well last night, that's all." Aang eyed her curiously, certain that the issue was a bit more complex than she had said, but her face betrayed no lie and as she looked at him he could see the genuine exhaustion.

"Ok, we've been walking long enough anyway." Katara nodded and the pair soon set up camp under a particularly wide tree. Katara did another healing session on Aang's thigh before he, as promised, made up their dinner for the night. No sooner had they finished, both in their sleeping bags, Katara had lay her head down and fallen swiftly asleep. He watched her with concern as she breathed easy, that familiar chocolate lock falling over her face and fluttering under her breath, before settling himself down facing her before he, too, fell to sleep.

~

_Keep walking. It's going to get harder._

~

"Aang! Aang wake up!"

Eyes snapping open Aang was shaken awake, and he blinked wildly for a moment before focusing on Katara's face his, her hand nudging his shoulder. "Katara? Wha-"

"Shhh," she pressed her finger against her lips, leaning back. On alert Aang sat up, looking sharply in the direction that Katara was looking, his heart leaping as he found himself looking at a pair of hold rimmed eyes, blinking curiously at them.

"What is it?" Katara hissed.

The spirit, a dog-like creature with warm honey fur, and dark mask around his it's face and large red feather like plumes fluffed up around it's neck like a mane watched them, head cocked to one side.

"A spirit," Aang replied. He gently rose to his knees, and the spirit instantly shrunk down, plumes flattening across its neck and letting out an uncertain growl. "I'm not going to hurt you," Aang said softly. The spirit barked boldly at him, and Aang set himself back onto his haunches. As Aang moved back, the spirit stood once more, this time grabbing a stick from the ground as it did so. Hesitantly moving forward it placed it on the ground, the gold rimmed eyes watching them intently as it did so. Then, with a quick nudge of it's muzzle it rotated the stick, before glancing back meaningfully in the direction the stick now pointed. Then, before Aang could do any more, it barked loudly again before turning tail and running off into the thick underbrush.

"Well, I guess we're going that way," Katara whispered.

"I guess so," Aang murmured. He looked over at her, a childish excitement shimmering in his eyes that she recognised instantly.

"Shall we go now then?" She asked with a smile.

"Only if you're ready!" Aang said quickly. "If you need more sleep then-"

"Aang, you are itching to follow it," she rolled her eyes. "Even if I get more sleep you won't." He grinned sheepishly and she began to roll up her sleeping bag. Quickly they packed their supplies once more and, grabbing Katara's hand, Aang hurried off in the direction the little dog spirit had run.

For the best part of half an hour they walked, eyes searching for signs of the spirit, yet the little creature seemed to have outpaced them by quite some margin. The difficult ground underfoot made their progress slow, and more than once one had needed help from the other to stop themselves from falling flat on their faces. Determined Aang pushed forwards, certain that Roku or one of other past Avatars had somehow managed to get a message to him via the spirit. So focused was he that at first he didn't notice Katara pulling roughly on his hand, hissing his name.

"Aang!" He looked back, slowing his pace when he saw the frightened look on Katara's face. "Aang, we're not the only ones here."

He froze, looking intently into the woods surrounding them. "Katara I can't see-" he was interrupted by a low growl, not unlike the one that the dog spirit had given, though this time much more threatening. Aang turned his attention to the direction the sound was coming from, only to hear another growl to his left. He gripped Katara's hand tightly, stepping in front of her.

"Did that cute little dog thing just lead us unto a trap?" Katara hissed. More growls followed her words, and from the thick treeline gold rimmed eyes began to shine, dark snouts poking forward revealing rows and sharp, snarling teeth.

"That is entirely possible," Aang muttered back through the side of his mouth, refusing to take his eyes from the growling spirits, and beginning to slowly walk them backwards. "That or my past lives are actually trying to kill me."

"An encouraging thought." Katara bent water from her hip flash, holding her water whip in place. One of the spirits barked at the sight, and the growling intensified, more of them coming from the treeline, surrounding them on all sides. In response, Aang raised some of the stone from the ground, covering their right flank whilst Katara covered their left. Then, with a howl, the first spirit charged.

**A/N: I know I know, a cliff hanger in the first chapter. But I gave you some Kataang fluff to make up for it ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

Miserable, cold, and wet, two downcast figures made their way up the winding, icy path that led to the sombre grandeur that was the figure head of the Nation they had found themselves trapped in. They were worried, defeated, and their energy spent after spending a week at sea, trying to fight the impossible conditions and the vicious elements. They had known the moment they set sail that they never stood a chance, but their desperate need to save the woman who meant so much to all of them pushed them onwards, though it had only been a matter of when, not if, they would be swallowed whole and forced to fight their way back to the safety of the Fire Nation. In truth, it was partly a miracle that they had even survived the return journey, though neither of them felt that was anything to celebrate. Neither of them spoke as they made their way to the Palace, their failure weighing heavy on their minds. Right now their only remaining hopes were for the storms to stop or for Aang to come back, and with each passing week it had begun to feel like either option was becoming just a vague and vane dream.

Horns signaled their return, and as they crested the final steep set of stairs to the elaborately pieced together Palace porch they were welcomed by cheers and cries of relief and joy. Their happiness was short-lived, however, when they saw Toph and Sokka scaling the hill alone. Sokka looked up at his wife, her heavily pregnant form being assisted by Mai, and shook his head, pain and defeat etched across his features. Toph continued to trudge past them, focusing entirely on the ground upon which she walked, her shoulders hunched, indicating that she didn't want to talk about anything that had happened. Grief in their eyes her companions watched as she passed, Suki taking her husband in her arms.

Half an hour later the group sat around the long table that ran the length of the Palace throne room, hot soups placed in front of the two weary travelers, tea in the center of the table. An uncomfortable silence had fallen across them, no one wanting to push Toph or Sokka into telling them what had happened, yet every one desperate to hear their accounts. Eventually Zuko gathered the courage and cleared his throat, nervous eyes flitting over to his.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked. Sokka looked miserably up the table, sifting his spoon through his soup, for once not hungry.

"I don't know what else can do," he mumbled. "Katara's gone, and the storm has gotten so bad we couldn't even make it half way to the North Pole before turning back."

"The war balloons?" Zuko pressed.

"There's no way they're strong enough to get anywhere close to where we even got the ships," Sokka replied with a exasperated sigh. "And if they fell to the sea we'd be dead meat for sure."

"We just have to hope Aang comes back soon." Toph mindlessly bent the spoon on her hand.

"Who's to say he will?" Sokka rounded on her, growling. "You probably noticed they hadn't exactly been close before he left."

"Sokka," Suki snapped, "Aang would go after her, we all know that he would."

"But what if Aang doesn't come back?" Mai ventured, cradling her daughter to her as she slept. "The storm has gotten worse, after all."

"He's an airbender and a waterbender," Toph scoffed. "He can manage a storm. The question is not if he comes back, but when. And despite what you think, Sokka, he's still crazy about Katara. The first thing he'll do when he gets back is head straight up to the North Pole to rescue her." They shifted uncomfortably, and Toph let out a tut of irritation. "Look, it's obvious that Innua came here for Twinkletoes. They've taken Katara to blackmail Aang and they won't do anything to her until he turns up. We tried, Sokka, but we just have to accept that the only thing we can do now is wait."

Sokka's nostrils flared, his hands fists as he glared down at his soup. Suki reached out and put a hand on his arm, her eyes flashing meaningfully as he looked up at her, and closing his eyes he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Why isn't he back yet?" Sokka said at last, and despite his best attempts anger still burned the edge of his tone. "It's been weeks ... months."

"Do you think if he found a way to stop these storms and this ... tear thing he'd come back her first?" Suki asked. "I'd say the fact he's been gone so long can only be a good sign. If he hadn't found anything then he would have come back here. Maybe he's trying to fix the tear as we speak?"

"But that doesn't help Katara," Sokka mumbled, his voice shaking. "I should have been there, we all knew Innua was up to something, I should have done something."

"Like what?" Zuko demanded, scowling. "None of us knew what she would do. There were guards posted in every hall, I had someone tailing her whenever she was at the Palace! I underestimated her, we all did."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sokka snarled, glaring down the table at him. "It's ok that I let my little sister get captured because we all let her get captured?"

"No one let her get captured," Suki snapped, her patience drawing thin. "As Zuko said, none of us had any clue what she was up to!"

"Oh, so you're on his side," her husband grumbled, crossing his arms and shooting her a fierce glare.

"I'm not on anyone's side!" Suki cried, exasperated. "I want Katara back every bit as much as you do, but blaming ourselves is going to change anything. We do as Toph said, we hold out and wait for Aang to come back. And he will come back."

Toph lifted her feet from the ground, crossing her legs underneath her, no longer able to stand the sickening self flagellation from Sokka any longer. "You're not the one with the hearing feet, Sokka," she said. "If anyone should have spotted this is should have been me. But do you see me pitying and punishing myself? No. Man up. Katara's a big girl, I'm sure she can take care of herself where Innua is concerned, and until Aang's back we have much more we need to deal with."

Sokka threw her a contemptuous glare, though wisely he chose to keep his mouth shut.

"Without the watery ones keeping the city clear, this shit has just got a whole lot harder. Our supplies will soon run out. I say we focus on survival until Twinkletoes has deal with his spirit problem."

"I'm sorry, Sokka, but I agree with Toph," Zuko said gently. "We can't do anything more for her now, but Suki is due soon and there's a lot to prepare for."

Sokka sighed and his face softened, looking sideways at his wife who slipped her hand into his curled fist. Defeated, he nodded.

"Good." The Firelord raised his chin slightly. "Sokka, Toph, you should both get some rest. As Toph pointed out there's a lot more than needs to be done here, and we'll need all the hands we can get."

With sombre nods they climbed to their feet. It was then that the loud and ominous sound of the horn reverberated through the room. They froze, exchanging glances of alarm and apprehension.

"You don't think that's Aang do you?" Sokka asked quickly. The horn called once more and they jumped into action, Sokka taking both Suki's hands. "Stay here, babes, ok?"

"What so I can't take care of myself at all now?" She scowled.

"It's not that. It's more that, well, you can't really waddle fast enough these days." After retrieving a seething glare from his wife he pecked her quickly on the cheek and hurried off after Zuko and Toph. Suki looked incredulously over at Mai, who remain seated with Meiya.

"Welcome to the rest of your life," she drawled dismissively.

Toph, despite her blindness was the first to find her way towards the tall, broad door that separated the Palace from the swirling mass of snow and sleet outside. A battle between her relief, her excitement and her apprehension waged in her stomach, so eager to see Aang again, to know that he was safe, yet knowing that if he was returning before the storms had stopped then not everything had gone to plan. There was also the sticky situation of Katara being kidnapped, and if she had thought Sokka was unbearable then Aang's reaction would be absolutely painful. Zuko and Sokka rounded the corner just as she pulled at the doors, guards hurrying forward to assist and defend her and their Firelord if need be. She hastily spilled out onto the freezing stone beyond the doorway, and though she knew that she couldn't hope to detect Aang in the sky she pressed her feet to the ground anyway. Zuko and Sokka came to a skidding halt either side of her, both panting lightly from the exertions.

For a moment, no one spoke, eyes squinting and feet listening, trying to catch sight of the visitor who had set off the horns and then, just as the wait began to grow agonising, Sokka cried out.

"It's Appa! Aang's back!"

Whilst Sokka sounded ecstatic, no doubt thinking of his sister, both Toph and Zuko remained sober, knowing that Aang's return whilst the storm still blew wasn't a good sign. Sokka moved forward, waving his arms.

"Aang!" Dutifully Toph and Zuko moved forward. "Wait ... wait, that's not- Dad?"

The pair froze and, with a heavy thud, Appa landed on the hard frozen ground, letting out a pained groan of relief. Sure enough, at the bison's head sat Hakoda, wrapped in layer upon layer of fur. Behind him sat Xing Ying, looking equally as exhausted as Appa did, shaking in the biting wind.

"Dad?" Sokka gasped. "What are you doing here? Where's Aang?"

Wincing Hakoda dropped from Appa's saddle. "I'll tell you," he grunted. "But I think Appa needs to be taken care of first."

Sure enough, the bison looked terrible. His body shook, his breath a hard pant, eyes half closed as he trembled on the ground. Toph could sense that the bison was exhausted, on the verge of illness. She had never felt Appa like this, and for the first time she truly began to fear for Aang. Then, as Xing Ying shifted in the saddle, gently dropping onto the floor, she sense something else. Something that felt so strangely familiar to Appa.

"What else is with you?" She demanded, scowling. Sokka and Zuko were instantly on alert, their eyes narrowed as they glared up at Appa.

"Yuva." Xing Ying's voice, tired yet gentle, earned her their attention and, with a gentle coaxing from her hand, a cold, shivering little body softly landed beside her. Their mouths dropped open, eyes wide, as they looked upon the baby sky bison.

"We'll explain everything," Hakoda said gruffly. "But as I said, Appa needs some food and some shelter. Frankly I think we all do."

Nodding, Zuko turned back to one of his guards, ordering them to guide the bison to the warm stable that always remained reserved for him. Xing Ying buried her palm into his fur, speaking softly to him.

"I'm going to go with them," she said. "Just to make sure he's ok, and because I think Yuva will be frightened on her own."

Hakoda and Zuko nodded, and still awestruck, Toph and Sokka watched as the baby trotted off into the snow.

"Shall we?" Zuko asked, gesturing back to the Palace. With much enthusiasm the Southern chief hurried through the doors, teeth visibly chattering, his body shaking from the cold.

As soon as they entered the throne room, Hakoda had hurried over to the surprised Suki, breathing his relief as he pulled her into a hug. Confused, Suki returned the hug, throwing Sokka a bemused and somewhat frightened look over Hakoda's shoulder. Sokka shrugged.

"I'm so pleased to see that you're ok, Suki," he said, drawing back. "When Aang told me how ill you were I was so worried." He glanced back at Sokka, a knowing pain in his eyes. "For both of you."

"I'm ok, Hakoda," Suki assured. "Katara took good care of me." Her voice faltered at that, she glanced quickly over at Sokka.

"I am not at all surprised to hear that she did," Hakoda murmured, smiling for the first time since he had arrived. Zuko gently gestured to one of the empty spaces at the table, and with a relieved grunt the chief sat down, disrobing himself of several layers of fur in the fiery warmth of the throne room.

"What's going on, dad?" Sokka asked, immediately taking a seat beside him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you. But what are you doing here on Appa? Where's Aang? And what's with the baby bison?" Suki's eyes widened.

"Baby sky bison?"

Gratefully Hakoda accepted the tea poured for him by one of Zuko's servants, taking a deep drink before answering. "Aang said we should take Appa back here, it was safer than ship. Aang is safe, I think, and he and Katara are in the spirit world. I still don't really know where the bison came from."

"Katara?" Sokka and Toph cried at once. "She's with Aang?" Sokka hurried. "How? Is she ok? And the spirit world? What the hell is Aang doing taking her into the spirit world?"

"Whoa, slow down now, son." Hakoda took another sip of his drink. "She's fine. Innua arrived at the South Pole just over a week ago-" the group hissed their displeasure at this, "-and she had Katara with her. She was there looking for Koh, and she brought Katara as a hostage so that we would take her to him."

"Koh was in the South Pole?" Zuko snapped, sitting straight in his chair.

"Yes." Hakoda rubbed his forehead. "Part of this is my fault. When we found Koh I sent a message here, to the Palace, to let Aang know. Innua intercepted it, and she took Katara as hostage." The group shared uncomfortable looks.

"Wait ... why did Innua want Koh?" Zuko pressed. To their surprise, Hakoda groaned.

"This is where it gets complicated. Aang and Innua had both been trying to find Koh, and just as Aang got the South Pole thinking he'd find this ... well, he said that there is a tear between our two worlds. The mortal and the spirit-"

"Yeh yeh, we know all that," Toph interrupted, a tad rudely. "Sokka beat it out of him." Hakoda shot his son an alarmed look as young warrior shrugged sheepishly. "Why did Innua want Koh?"

"Well, it turns out that Innua wanted revenge on Koh for stealing her father's face. Koh was aware of this, and when I took Aang to him, before Innua arrived, the spirit told Aang that he refused to fix the rift between our worlds unless Aang killed Innua." They all exchanged alarmed looks. "When we returned to the village, Innua was there. She had a few of the northern water tribes biggest and baddest with her, with some vile man named Kanto holding a knife to Katara's throat." His hands began to shake at the point, and his voice was a growl as he continued. "She threatened to kill her unless we took her to Koh. Aang tried to reason with her but ... that woman is insane."

"Sounds familiar," Mai grumbled darkly. Zuko looked at her sideways, his expression pained.

"Aang led her to Koh, whilst two of her men had Katara and me at knife point the whole way. When we got there Innua challenged Koh and ... well, that's when it got weird." He rubbed his hands against his face, trying to fight away the embers of his exhaustion. "Did Aang ever mention that Koh stole Tonrar's face?" The group nodded. "Well, Tonrar is - somehow - Innua's father."

A sickening silence followed this. Whilst the initial shock of the statement was enough to deal with on it's own, each of them knew that it held much greater shock and consequence to Aang.

"What happened?" Suki asked, her voice hushed.

"Innua lost. Koh was too strong for her and she didn't stand a chance against him. It was almost like she just surrendered to him." His face went pale, and his gaze dropped to the table. "It's the most horrific thing I'd ever seen. Aang realised it was a trap, but far too late, and Innua just stood there and let Koh steal her face ..." he closed his eyes. "I thought it was over, I think we all did, save Aang. But, somehow, in sacrificing her face something much much worse happened. Tonrar somehow managed to rise, he took control of Koh's body, like he had possessed it."

"No ..." Toph growled, shaking her head. "No we beat that mother, he can't be back!"

"I don't understand how it worked," Hakoda sighed. "But he turned on Aang. He tried to control him, but Aang was able to fight back." His mouth twitched. "Just about. Tonrar didn't want to control Aang, or even just hurt him. He wanted to kill him, and he nearly did it too."

"What?" Zuko cried.

"Aang was hurt. Badly. But just as Tonrar was about to land the killing blow the man who had Katara freed her ... she was able to damage Tonrar, enough for him to pull back and flee. Katara was able to heal Aang and save his leg." He looked up at Suki. "She really is a remarkable healer."

"Save his leg?" Zuko looked green now. "Do we want to know?" Hakoda shook his head.

"No. Trust me, I am trying hard myself to forget it."

"But, he's ok, right?" Toph asked.

"He's well enough."

"But, what's this about the spirit world?" Sokka demanded. "Why in all that is good and pure did Aang take Katara to the spirit world? She should be here! He knows better than that!"

Sokka's fury at the Avatar was clear for all to see. Hakoda reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sokka, we both tried to stop her. But you know when Katara has her mind set on something there's no stopping her-"

"Yes there is," Sokka snapped. "Just leave her behind. Tie her onto Appa or something ... Aang nearly died and decides to take her on a spirit walk? I swear to Yue if Tonrar doesn't kill him I will."

"Sokka!" They looked over to see Suki, eyes flashing, glaring at her husband. "Katara isn't a little girl to be coddled and ordered around."

"She's right, son," Hakoda said softly. "And the fact is Aang needs her. He can't face Tonrar alone, no matter how much he insists he can."

"That sounds like Twinkletoes," Toph scoffed.

"Aang things that Tonrar went to the spirit world, and he's followed him there. Unless Koh fixes the tear then we all die. I have faith that Katara can help him to find Tonrar and finally put an end to all of this."

"I hope you're right," Sokka grumbled. "You have no idea how worried I've been, dad. We thought that Innua had taken her to the North Pole. Toph and I tried to go after them but, well, you've seen it out there."

"I know, son."

"So what do we do now?" Zuko asked, his hand resting gently on Mai's shoulder. "Do we wait for Aang? Or is there something that we can do?" Hakoda shifted uncomfortably, swallowing audibly. Zuko frowned at him. "What?"

"Unfortunately I predict we will have our own issues to deal with." Hakoda took a deep breath, crossing his arms on the table. "There was something about the way Innua's men looked at us, like they wanted blood. General Hanh was there, he was the one who had Xing Ying. I could tell just by the way he looked at me, like I was a traitor, that there was more to it than just getting revenge on Koh."

"Hanh wants his own revenge," Zuko said softly. "I've predicted as much since the very first republic meeting." Hakoda nodded.

"I don't think it will be long before we see him again."

Despondent, the group looked at one another. They had been through a lot together, especially in the past year, but the storm and the disconnect from the rest of the world was weighing heavy on all of them, and the thought of Hanh returning to get his revenge on the Fire Nation and its leader left them feeling drained and exhausted. They would fight, that they would never stop doing, but in truth they just wished for this living hell to be over.

"How long do you think Aang and Katara will be gone?" Suki asked, and immediately Hakoda shook his head.

"I honestly couldn't even guess at this point. I don't know anything about the spirit world, how they plan to track Tonrar, how they're going to beat him ... I don't even know how they plan to get back. But I think we should prepare to fight Hanh without the Avatar's help."

Bitterly, Sokka nodded. He glanced up at Zuko, and though his exhaustion was clear, he was every bit as determined as Sokka was to finally put an end to Hanh's pettiness.

"We'll be ready for him," the Firelord growled. "Storm or no storm the Fire Nation doesn't back down."

~

Much later that night, after every one had settled into their rooms, stomachs full and, for the most part, questions answered, a lone figure made his way down the darkened corridors. Keen eyes stared out before him, his movement swift and precise, careful not to make a single sound. There was tenacious determination etched across his handsome features, his body angled in complete awareness and one-minded preparation. Quickly and silently he found himself standing outside of the room that had been designated to the Southern Water Tribe's chief, who slept soundly inside. After taking a deep breath, he reached out, rapping several sharp knocks on the door. After a few dragged-out seconds, the doorknob began it's rotation, a tired and puzzled Hakoda looking out through the gap.

"Sokka?"

Sokka allowed none of his resolve to slip, and swallowed. "Can we talk?"

"Of course." Hakoda opened the door, watching his son with obvious concern as he made his way into the room. "Sokka, what's on your mind?"

Hakoda knew well the man that his young son had become. As goofy as he could still sometimes be, the man was a warrior, he was a thinker, and he absolutely would not have left his heavily pregnant wife alone in her room without good reason. This, in itself, was enough to alarm him.

"It's about Hanh," Sokka replied, straight to the point. Hakoda sat on the edge of his bed, but Sokka remained standing

"Ok?"

"Innua was likely calling the shots, right?"

Surprised, Hakoda nodded. "I'd guess so."

"Which means that if Innua is out of the picture, Hanh's the one left in charge of his rag tag little group."

"Right ... Sokka where are you going with this?"

Sokka began to pace, frowning. "The Hanh I knew wasn't capable of leading anyone. He almost led his men to slaughter in the North Pole, and back in Ba Sing Se he followed Innua around like a little lost puppy." He stopped, glaring out of the darkened window. "I may be wrong about this, but there is no way that Hanh is even capable of leading those men you met at the South Pole to the Fire Nation's gates, let alone an army."

"So you're saying he's not a threat?" Sokka glanced back over at his father.

"I'm saying that, going on how badly Hanh craves his revenge, if it was just him and his men, he would be here by now. I'm saying that I don't think Hanh is going to be leading this charge. I'm saying that Innua was one manipulative son of a bitch, and certainly not stupid enough to leave Hanh in charge of a bid for revenge against the Fire Nation."

Hakoda scowled. "Then who? What are you getting at?"

"You said yourself that she had Arnook wrapped around her little finger," Sokka continued. "And, maybe it's just me, but if she's capable of convincing him that she should be on council, then who's to say she hasn't convinced him of a whole lot more?"

"Sokka," Hakoda stood now, chin held high. "I know Arnook, he's an honourable man, and he has suffered enough at the hands of the Fire Nation. He's not about to lead an army to the Firelord's door."

"Are you sure about that?" Sokka turned to face his father. "Both of his chosen leaders kidnapped Katara, brought her at knife point to the South Pole to blackmail Aang. They arrived here a month before bringing us aid! Medicine, food, bedding, all under the guise of trying to work out where Aang was!"

Hakoda shook his head. "I refuse to believe that Arnook would betray our trust. Whatever is going on, he isn't behind it." He could see Sokka's eyes flash in argument, and he swiftly reached out to take his son's shoulders. "I agree with you, that if Hanh was coming alone then he would be here right now. But have faith when I say that Arnook isn't the one responsible for Katara's kidnapping."

Doubtful Sokka searched his father's eyes, before his shoulders slumped. "Dad, if you're right about a coming invasion, we can't let them anywhere near the Palace. They can't get to Suki."

It was then that Hakoda saw the true fear in Sokka's heart. He took Katara's kidnapping hard, it was personal for him, a failure that he could perhaps never forgive himself for. And he was fearful that he could let his wife and unborn child down just as badly.

"I know, son. And they won't. No one is going to touch Suki, you have my promise."

For a moment they stood in silence, before Sokka, his essence now tentative, spoke up once more. "Was she really ok? Did they hurt her at all?"

Hakoda sighed, looking away. "She was tired, it doesn't even look like they fed her the entire time she was on the ship. But I think it was only her pride that was bruised. She had the strength to save Aang, no mean feat given what Tonrar did to him, she is much stronger than I ever was."

"Probably stronger than me, too," Sokka mumbled. "When you said that Aang was injured ... is it going to have an effect on how well he can fight Tonrar?"

Hakoda looked back at his son quickly, his face already betraying the truth before he spoke, and Sokka's eyes darkened. "Yes, I think it will. But he is resourceful, and he has Katara. There is nothing that they can't face and defeat together, I truly believe that."

**A/N: Apologies for the lateness of this chapter! I've been very busy with work, and one of my pet rats had babies at the weekend, so needless to say I've been a bit preoccupied with all the squealing and adorableness ;)**

**Thanks for being patient, guys, and for the reviews so far!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Guys, I am SO sorry it took me so long to get the next chapter up! I shan't go into details, but there's been a lot going on at home that's left me with very little time to write. I'm going to do my best to find a couple evenings a week to dedicate to writing, because I've really been missing it. There will be another footnote at the end to explain a little something about this chapter, but for the moment I'll leave you to the story.**

Snarling howls and guttural growls filled the endlessly serene and shaded forest. A land that had remained still and restful for centuries suddenly came alive with wide peering eyes, squeaks of alarm, and the rush of spirits running either to or away from the source of the disturbance. Small spirits watched from the top of their trees as the two humans, a sight not seen in these parts since almost the beginning of time, found themselves surrounded by snapping teeth and vibrant red plumes.

Aang and Katara stood back to back, she with her water whip at the ready, he raising chunks of earth that circled around them, ready to fire at whichever of the dog-like spirits chose to charge again. The first spirit, that had lunged with a howling cry, had swiftly been knocked aside by Katara's water whip, throwing the creature into a tree. The spirit had got back to it's feet, an embarrassed whimper leaving its salivating lips, and his allies wisely decided to stand back. Slowly though they began to encircle them on all sides, a certain intelligence in their eyes as they searched for a weakness in the two bender's defense, before letting out a horrifying chorus of growls and snarls to try and intimidate them further. Aang, refusing to take his eyes from their adversaries, turned his head to hiss to Katara.

"Keep moving backwards, they don't seem too willing to get close. Stay in contact with me, got it?"

Katara nodded, shifting her position, the water in her hands swelling momentarily, causing the spirits to back away further. Slowly Aang began to creep forwards, Katara keeping her pack in contact with his, and sure enough the spirits moved away from him, their uncertain eyes watching as airborne clumps of earth got closer to them.

"Is it working?" Katara hissed back.

"I think so."

They continued their painfully slow progression towards a gentle and hopeful ray of light that had managed to filter its way through the thick treeline, and for a moment it seemed as though nerves had overcome daring in the spirits. They growled uncertainly until, regaining its pluck, one of them moved forwards towards Aang, head lowered, red feathery plumes held high above its body. Aang pulled the earth in its direction, hoping to scare it back, but instead the spirit saw this as reason for attack, and with a howl it charged forward. This time it was Aang who responded first, pulling the earth together and throwing the dog-like creature aside just as Katara had done, but this time the spirits did not move back, and Aang yelled out a warning to Katara just as the bushes exploded with life, the pair finding themselves faced with a wall of teeth and stinking breath. Swiftly Katara pulled her whip in front of her, creating a shield that lashed out and pushed them back, and Aang raised more rock from the ground surrounding them, throwing spirits off their feet and colliding with them as they leaped.

"Aang! Your right!"

He swung round just in time to see two of the spirits cut through their barricade, and with a blast of air shot them backwards. More of the spirits came, innumerable amounts that seemed to defy reason, and together they continued to push them back, Katara firing shards of ice, her daggers stabbing chests and rumps, sending many scattering yet whilst more came. Before long it seemed as though they were dropping from the very trees above them, and Aang pulled up a bubble of air around them, and the spirits ricocheted off the swirling surface. With one hand Aang reached back, grabbing Katara's pack.

"Keep up with me!"

He heard Katara let out a loud laugh, just as she whipped round to take out one of the spirits that managed to break through Aang's air shield, its gnashing jaws aiming for his face.

"Right," she said mockingly.

Together they increased their pace towards the light, Aang's shield keeping much of the assault at bay, whilst they picked off those that managed to find their way through. Katara wasn't able to recover all of the water that she was spending, and with each attack she broke into her precious reserves until she inevitably came close to a halt.

"Aang, I'm out! You need to take down the shield and cover me."

"Katara-"

"Just do it!"

With a low growl of apprehension, Aang dropped the shield, and the sound of triumph from the seemingly hundreds of spirits around them was deafening. Without his staff and unable to call upon the Avatar State, there was only so much power to his air bending, but summoning all of his will and power he threw out his palms, a ring of rushing, hissing wind spreading out around them, knocking spirits back. Quickly Katara held out her hands, water from the foliage around them trickling and flowing towards her finger tips like glowing lightning. The air blast dropped just as Katara regained her source and, with a yell she spun, Aang ducking just as the awesome display of her true power rose around them, shards of ice growing and swelling into sharp jagged teeth that pierced any of the spirits unfortunate enough not to get out its way. But there was no time for Aang to marvel at this impressive feat, before the spirits were rallying for a second attack. Quickly he cast around them for some route of escape, before he spotted the break. The treeline had grown thin, a steep cliff-face ahead of them, and gritting his teeth in determination he reached behind him, grabbing Katara by the arm, breaking into a run.

"Aang!"

By now she could see the cliff-face herself, and he felt her try to pull back. But with the spirits giving chase, he pulled her roughly forwards, wrapping a hand around her waist and pulling her close as he leapt through the bushes, propelling themselves into the clear sky. Katara screamed as they fell, Aang holding her as close as he could with one arm, trying to ignore the almost choke-like hold she had around his neck. He pulled air up from below them, trying to slow their decent until his feet made hard contact with the steep side of the cliff. Quickly he pushed himself off just as he felt his legs get caught up in the turf beneath them, summoning more air in a cushion below them as they fell. Then, with much less grace that he would usually have expected from a master air bender as himself, they made a tumbling painful collision with the bottom of the cliff, landing heavily on Aang's side as he rolled to protect her. Katara sprawled away from him, rolling with the force, and Aang couldn't fight back a bark of pain as his right leg twinged.

For a moment, they just lay there, panting heavily, looking up at the top of the cliff where the spirits were just visible, their red plumes fanning and vibrating, their snaps and snarls following them down. Then, thankfully, they turned their tail and disappeared from view. Dazed, the pair looked over at each other, still panting, covered in mud and with fresh bruises for their trouble. A lengthy silenced followed as they took in each others appearance before, as one, they burst into laughter.

"You really are completely insane, aren't you?" Katara asked through her tears. Aang dropped onto his back, laughing heartily up at the sky, the sound filling the air as if in defiance of all that they had been through. Wiping the tears from her eyes, still chuckling, Katara came to his side, peering down at his face an obscuring the sky above him. "Did you hurt your leg badly?"

With a grunt Aang raised himself up on his arms, before bending his right knee back, raising his foot in the air and giving it a wiggle. "It'll be fine." With a low whistle he looked back up the cliff, running his hand through his hair that had begun to stick to his somewhat sweaty forehead. "Let's not do that again." He looked over at Katara to find her watching him, a strange smile on her lips and she regarded him with half hooded eyes. "What?" He asked warily. "Have I got something on my face?" Katara shook her head.

"No, you just look pretty sexy with hair." Aang's face broke into a wide grin.

"You think I look sexy?"

Katara shrugged, her eyes sparkling. "Don't let it go to your head or anything."

"I am but a humble monk." Then, Aang's grin dropped. "Wait, does that mean you don't think I look sexy without hair?"

Katara laughed, rolling her eyes. "You are such an airhead."

Aang crossed his arms, pouting. "Well, if you like hair so much why don't you just ... I dunno, marry Zuko or something, since he's got so much of it."

Laughing, Katara scooting closer to him. "Right, I'll marry Zuko." She kissed him on the nose, before laughing once more at his hurt expression. "Doofus." Just as Aang opened his mouth to express his indignation at being called a 'doofus', the pair found themselves interrupted by a shrill yap. Immediately Aang flew to his feet, dropping into a defensive position in front of Katara whilst she pulled the lid from her hip flask, gathering a thin ribbon of water that was left before them. The pup spirit that that they had met before stepped back a few paces, ears back and plumes held low to its flanks, and uttered a small whimper. Then, just as Katara climbed to her feet it turned, running up the low hill that presumably crested at yet another mountain peek. Aang and Katara exchanged nervous glances as the spirit turned in a circle, yapping and growling at them.

"It looks like it wants us to follow it again," Aang said cautiously. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"And you want to follow it?!" She hissed, seeing the look on his face and reading it all too clearly.

"Well, all the big angry dog spirits are back up there," Aang reasoned, pointing back up to the high cliff face behind them.

"Right. And what if this spirit is working for Tonrar? Have you considered that?"

"No ..." Aang admitted, his shoulders slumping. He glanced back up at the pup spirit as it began to yap hysterically, jumping up and down on the spot. He looked back to Katara who sighed, grabbing one of their fallen packs from the ground and shouldering it. With a shadow of triumph on his face Aang did the same, and the two began to scale the low up-climb before them. Before they had even reached half way the spirit, clearly having had enough of these stubborn humans, turned tail and ran past them, leaping up the cliff with a grace that put even Aang to shame. Once more they hesitated, but Aang pushed forward until their feet touched the edge of the cliff. Jaws dropped and gasps were inhaled as the pair looked upon the sight before them.

"Is that ... a city?"

Perhaps a days walk ahead of them, rounded green peaks twinkling in the low sun, a shimmering sea of white and cream blocks lay. The architecture was not dis-similar to that of the Southern Air Temple, with the odd spiraled tower breaking the relatively level skyline of the city. Laying upon what appeared to be a huge expanse of desert it could easily have passed for a mirage were it not for the very real aura that seemed to emanate from it, reaching them even in their many miles of separation. It was a beautiful sight, and for Aang something that seemed so alien in the human-free world he had felt he had come to know somewhat in the last 5 years. As far as he knew there were no human settlers in the spirit world, and though he was certain it was real, nothing about the sight before him made very much sense.

"Why would the spirits build a city?" Aang asked, his voice low and uneasy. Katara, her eyes sparkling with awe, turned to him, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Couldn't it be humans?" She reasoned, her voice undeniably tipped in hope. "I mean, Iroh said that-"

"There are no humans living in the spirit world," Aang interrupted. "Well, none that are living anyway." Something about Aang's tone sent a shiver down Katara's spine, and she rubbed her arms.

"So ... do we go?" She asked in a hushed voice. "Or do we avoid it?"

Frowning Aang cast his eyes across the entire landscape before them and, aside from the city, there was simply sand and dunes for as far as the eye could see. A small cluster of rock seemed to lay partway between themselves and the city, and Aang sighed.

"We're meant to go there." He looked up at the sky. "We won't make it before sun down, but we can at least find some shelter there for the night." He pointed to the rock breaking the smooth sandwork and Katara nodded, before looking down.

"And how do we get there?" She asked. "Without a glider or a bison? That's a pretty steep drop, and I don't see any other way of getting do-" She caught the sparkle in Aang's eyes and froze, eyes widening. "No, no don't you even thi- AANG!" He grabbed her round the waist once more, pulling out a step of earth before them that he then pulled her onto with a gust of wind, the step then dropping down the edge of the cliff like an elevator, though at a speed that Katara was completely certain wasn't necessary. She heard Aang laughing, and made a mental note to punish him for this later, and with a sudden jolt they reached the bottom of the cliff, sand puffing up around them from the force. When it settled, Aang found Katara glaring at him, her hair a mess and sand settled on her shoulder and face. With a nervous chuckle, Aang sent a gust of wind outwards, messing Katara's hair up further whilst she deadpanned.

"Well, we're down at least," he offered tentatively, as she tried to flatten her hair.

A few minutes later, once they had adjusted their packs and double checked their water supplies, the pair set off across the wide expanse of desert. It was difficult to say how this desert of the spirit world compared to Si Wong. The Si Wong desert was vast, hundreds and hundreds of miles of merciless harsh heat and frequent sand storms, and for the first hour that they walked this desert seemed mild and flat, a light breeze keeping the temperature at a tolerable level whilst a small cloud of sand rose above their feet. But the longer the walked the more it became clear that this desert was nothing like what they were used to. Before long the cliffs were but a haze behind them, and the heat began to rise dramatically, suffocating and clinging to them like a blanket. They were soon forced to dip into their water, sipping as they walked to try and fight off dehydration as sweat dripped profusely from their foreheads. Aang was notably struggling, his hip aching from the dramatic and messy jump they had made to escape the spirits, and as much as he tried to ignore the burning in his joints and muscle as he walked, with the heat pressing against him it was hard to think of anything else. The rocky shelter that he had spotted was still a good hours walk away from them, yet the pain was growing minute by minute. He looked across at Katara, surprised to see that she, too, seemed to be struggling. Her eyes were constantly darting around them, jumping at the odd fresh gust of sand that pushed it's way past them, her arms crossed on her chest and she walked as if to defend herself from some unseen foe.

"Katara?" She jumped and looked over at him. He frowned. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she muttered. "Just fine, let's keep walking." Doubtfully he pushed forward, keeping his attention on Katara and her apparent growing paranoia as they made their way deeper into the desert, trying his hardest to push the pain into the back of his mind.

A further half an hour they walked, neither of them speaking, heads down as forced themselves to keep walking. The terrain started to grow more difficult to walk upon, the wind creating forever shifting dunes beneath their feet that had them scaling heights that had seemed so manageable when looked upon back on the cliff. Aang held out his hand for Katara, and the pair helped one another climb without slipping. Yet still Katara seemed distracted, a deep frown etched upon her face. At last, upon cresting a dune that easily reached half the height of the cliff they had dropped from, they finally found themselves looking at the jagged island of rock that stubbornly remained in the swirling eroding forces of the sand that surrounded it. Aang and Katara raised hands to their faces as a huge gust of sand blew up from below them, squinting through the haze.

"We made it," Aang said softly, before looking up at the sky. "And just in time, it's starting to get dark." Katara simply nodded, starting the decent down the other side of the dune without a single word.

By the time they had made it to the rocky island, it was clear that neither of them were able to fight against their exhaustion any longer. Aang placed a grateful hand against the rock, sighing in relief as he was finally able to take his weight off his right leg, and Katara closed her eyes, swiftly dropping to the floor, leaning her back against one of the small red boulders. The island was much more warped and unusual close up. In the center stood the large pinnacle, the base of the rock much thinner than the bulbous, segmented head that sat atop it. Over the countless years the sand had gradually eaten away at the base, leaving an almost perfect roof that graced over their heads. To one side a large layered rock lay, mercifully shielding them from the swirling sand storm that had become to pick up quite some force in the past half hour. It was likely the best natural shelter they could hope to find in this desert, and despite its openness on one side, it would do. Providing that the wind doesn't start coming back on them.

Aang dropped his pack from his shoulders, reaching forward to pull Katara's abandoned pack against the shelter of the rock. Katara seemed to hardly notice his actions, instead sitting with her knees pulled up against her chest, her eyes shut tight. Aang watched her for a moment, his concern reaching its climax as he felt certain that exhaustion couldn't possibly be the soul reason for her new behaviour. With a wince and a grunt he dropped to her left side, his hand gripping his burning thigh, yet even that failed to rouse her.

"Katara?"

She remained in place, gripping her knees tight, her breathing uneasy. Panic began to fill his chest, suddenly fearful that she had someone been hurt when they had fought the spirits, and he leaned forward, reaching out to cup her chin and raise her face to his. Her eyes opened, squinting as if that action alone caused her pain.

"Katara? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again and pulled her knees only tighter, her eyes shutting once more. Aang swallowed, his eyes roaming over her form, looking for whatever damage must have been done.

"It's this place," she said at last, her voice hoarse. Aang looked back to her closed lids, fluttering slightly. "You know that horrible feeling that was all over the village? That ... ache in your head and your stomach." Aang shook his head, though thinking back to Hakoda's reaction when he had first led him to Koh he knew what she meant.

"I didn't get that," he said softly. Katara opened her eyes again, frowning at him.

"You didn't?" She sighed, before shivering and groaning. Aang instantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "I guess maybe you belong here." It was Aang's turn to frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Back in the South Pole I thought maybe that the feeling was Koh trying to stop anyone from finding him ... if I didn't have a knife to my throat I probably wouldn't have gotten much further than the village. But I don't think it was Koh." Her fists clenched. "It feels like I am being physically punished for being here, like this entire world is trying to get me to leave."

Casting a cool look at the darkening desert Aang knew that she was probably right. The spirit world wasn't anything like the mortal, and Aang himself had started to feel a difference deep inside of himself the longer they walked. With the Avatar Spirit growling and churning at the back of his mind he was granted safe passage through this world, but for Katara, a human with no spirit sharing her body with her soul, the spirit world simply couldn't be more foreign and alien to her. In truth, he had expected her to find it difficult to adjust to the weirdness of this place, but to see her body and mind react so painfully to it was too much for him to bear.

"We have to go back," he said firmly. "If this is hurting you we need to take you back home."

"No!" He was taken back as Katara jumped up, pulling his arm from her, her voice loud and panicked. She blinked, surprised at her own outburst. "I mean ... no, Aang, we can't go back. We've already walked so far, and the spirits back there ..."

"I don't care about them." He stood too, taking her forearms in his hands.

"We're not going back." Katara took a deep breath. "The longer I was around Koh's cave the less I noticed it, I just need to stick it out, it'll pass."

"Katara-"

"Stop doing that," she spat, pulling her arms away. "Stop acting like you know what's best all the time." A fresh gust of wind blew past them, picking up her hair and skirt and she averted her gaze from his surprised and hurt face. "I just ... need to not see this any more. Ok? I don't want to look at this ugly place."

He walked forward, pulling her stiff frame into his arms. He could feel her body shaking slightly against his own as she hesitantly placed her arms against his chest, dropping her face against his shoulder. "Ok," he breathed, kissing her forehead. He stroked the back of her head. "Alright." They pulled apart, and Aang turned to face the layered rock that still sheltered them from much of the swirling chaos of sand, leaving Katara swaying slightly where she stood, her hands rubbing her arms.

His movement fluid and powerful, Aang pulled two long slants of rock from the large segmented boulder, forming a large tent that was easy big enough for them and their packs. Limping back over to their supplies he pulled out their bedding, deftly air bending their packs into the back of their make-shift cave before laying out the blankets and fur on the ground with a flourish, before turning back to her, holding out his arm to present his creation.

"Tah dah!" He grinned broadly at her, but her responding smile was weak and tired. "I'll get some dinner cooked up," he continued softly, his grin dropping to a comforting smile.

"Let's just have some of the bread today," she replied, before finally taking a step forward from her swaying spot just on the edge of the storm. Aang watched her sadly as she stepped past him, disappearing gratefully into the tent.

After setting up a fire at the entrance, Aang climbed in after her. She was sat crossed legged at the back, the warm flickering glow from the fire dancing across her face. An untouched bread biscuit was in one hand whilst the other drew circles in the sand at her side, her expression absent as she focused on the shapes. Firmly, Aang took her hand, switching her focus to him. "Sweetie, eat." She nodded, begrudgingly taking a small bite out of her dinner. Somewhat satisfied Aang leaned back, grabbing some food for himself. They ate in silence, the only sounds being the fire and the growing hiss from the storm outside. Once Katara had finally finished her small biscuit, Aang felt it safe to speak.

"Do you feel better?" She looked up at him and nodded. He smiled, and reached out for her. "Come here, I want to show you something." She suddenly giggled, a beautiful sound that instantly raised the thick cloud of dread that had been settling over them. And though Aang was confused by her response, the sound was so infectious he couldn't stop his smile widening into a grin. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, blushing. "Just ... What can you possibly have to show me in here?"

"It's not in here," he explained patiently. She cocked her head doubtfully, a small smile playing across her lips before she gave in, shuffling over to him. Carefully he pulled her onto his lap, angling her so that her back was against his chest as he turned to face the entrance of the cave, that warm firelight casting shadows across the rock that danced as if they were alive. He pointed out past her, his hand gesturing to the sky that could be made out atop the flat expanse of desert. "Look." She gasped, her eyes widening as she looked upon what could possibly be the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. The night sky wasn't the inky black dotted with stars that she was so used to seeing back home. Though no doubt beautiful, that sky simply paled in comparison to the stunning array of colours that swirled and played above them. It was almost like the Southern Lights that could be seen in the darkest depths of winter, although with it's rich pinks and blues, and delicate tea greens and pastel purples, the lights here made the Southen Lights look like nothing more than a watered down painting. A gentle hum could be heard, growing louder and more intense in time with the lights and swirling shapes swelling and winding against each other, almost like they were taking part in a passionate dance, the humming the beating of their hearts.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, leaning back into his chest. Aang's eyes had drifted away from the sky, half hooded as he watched the way the lights played against her hair and skin, her eyes wide and sparkling with wonder. His heart beat so powerfully in his chest, and he sighed.

"Yeh ..."

She looked back at him, blushing deeply when she saw that his eyes were on her, the sky seemingly forgotten. "Aang," she muttered, averting her gaze, an embarrassed smile on her lips. But for Aang there could be no embarrassment. She could still make him blush, and her closeness since he had woken in her room had left him hot and bothered and unsure, but right now with such wonder in the sky making her look more beautiful than he thought was even possible in this universe, there was nothing that could ruin this moment. Almost of their own accord he felt his hand raising to brush her hair back over her ear, pulling the soft tresses over her opposite shoulder and leaning forward to press his lips against her neck. With a sharp intake of breath he felt her freeze and he pulled his lips away, instead nuzzling her with his nose until her body softened, and she leaned back against him once more. Taking his queue he pressed his lips to her once more, leaving a soft trail of kisses from her ear to her shoulder. She cocked her head, opening up more of her neck to him, and gladly he kissed back up to her jaw again. "Aang ..." His heart began to pound harder at the sound her voice breathing his name, and his hands fell from their place on her shoulders, stroking the top of her arms and placing kisses on all that he could reach of her jaw before tentatively taking the lobe of her ear in his mouth his teeth running against the soft skin. She shifted, and fearing he had gone to far he pulled back. Her head turned so that she could look at him, their eyes meeting, so much love and wonder in both, and to his surprise she twisted herself so that her legs crossed around him, her body pressed against his front as they found themselves face to face. His eyes searched hers, not wanting to go any further than she wanted. With the fire and sky behind her, the light framing her hair, her face was mostly in darkness, but he could see her searching his face too, and as one they leaned forward, their lips connecting, their tongues dancing a dance that neither had danced in so long, but had never forgotten. He had missed her, spirits of course he had, but he didn't realise until this moment just how badly he missed this dance, feeling her hot breath against his face, and her body pressed tightly against his. It was theirs. He hands fell from around his neck, pressing themselves against his chest, before traveling down to his waist, pulling at the sash. A pleasant fog seemed to settle over his mind, and his hands involuntarily dropped to her waist, and together they dropped one anothers waist belts to the side, never breaking their kiss, lips pressed so tightly together, their desire for one another no longer a question but burning.

Outside the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped at quite a rate, the lights continuing their passionate dance. The sand seemed to swirl around their tent, picking up speed, whilst inside a kiss was broken as tunics and dresses and bindings were pulled over the lover's heads. Their eyes made contact as their torso's were bared to one another for the first time in half a year, chests heaving as hearts pounded inside. But with a growling desire Aang's arms dropped from Katara's bare waist to her hips, and she couldn't hold back a moan as he pulled her up to her knees, pulling her even closer to him as his lips met her chest. Their love making in the past had been tentative, and even when one of them tried to take control they would still pause, their eyes searching the others from permission, both of them still to nervous to take what they truly wanted from one another. But here it was different. Katara gasped as she felt Aang's mouth close around her left nipple, his tongue and teeth plucking at her and swirling across the sensitive skin, and his hands roamed from her hips to her bottom, gripping hard and eliciting another moan from her. The first time they had made love Aang had been coming down from a terrifying high in the Avatar State, and the way he had grabbed her then, the way he had returned her frantic desire was something that she hadn't experienced since. Though their times since had been just as wonderful and intimate, they had been soft, but now with his mouth switching to her right breast and his hands rubbing down the back of her thighs and up to her bottom once more she felt that same burning fire. If it wasn't so pleasurable she would have stopped him, fearful that he was pushing himself much farther than he really wanted to go, especially after feeling the darkness at the edge of his soul, but as his right hand cupped down from her behind between her legs and she cried out her first true exclamation of desire she realised she didn't care. She pulled back, dipping her head down and pressing her hungry lips against his, wanting to match his passion with her own. She felt the growl deep in his throat, his fingers digging into her body, and she pushed him back against the furs behind them, her legs straddling his hip and their kiss becoming a battle of tongue and teeth and gasping breath, bodies pressed flush, their excitement starting a rhythmic grind against one another. His hands pulled at the waistband of her leggings and she raised her hips so that he could pull her bottoms and bindings down in one swift movement, and as her naked body fell back onto his, his desire so obvious against her core she couldn't take any more. She pulled her mouth from his, eyes looking into his and for the briefest of moment she was scared of what she would see looking back at her. But Aang's silver grey eyes were there, ablaze with his need for her, and she realised that this truly was all Aang. There was nothing driving their somewhat furious foreplay but themselves. More excited by that thought than any other, she shimmied down his body, her hands hooking onto his trousers and with his assistance they too were thrown to the side amongst all their other shreds of clothing. Panting somewhat she pulled herself back up his body until they were face to face, their sex molding together, eyes wide and hungry, and as soon as Katara pressed her lips once more to his, she felt him guide himself into her, and their gasping cries filled the cave.

It had grown only colder in the desert, the temperature dropping to a bitterness that could threaten to turn the air to frost. The sand swirled faster and faster, the lights in the sky practically bursting in their intensity, as frantic moans and cries joined in the humming and upped the tempo of its dance. If Katara had been paying attention she would have seen the fire swell and spit, and the whirlwind that had started to surround their tent, but she was lost in the feel of Aang's touch, his hand on her hips and she sat up against his hips, begging him to go faster. Her fingers dug into the skin of his chest, her nails bringing small pools of blood to the surface, but Aang seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes locked upon her as her face contorted with pleasure. As she felt as though all of the blood in her body was circling around her core, the heat inside her rising to a temperature that was almost unbearable, she cried out his name, whimpering as she rode out her climax, her eyes shut tight. Aang's hands tightened around her, and she heard his panting, and she opened her eyes to find her pleasure instantly morph into fear as a blue light filled the tent. His eyes were wide, looking into hers, though the bright glowing light left them emotionless and terrifying. She felt his orgasm just as she became aware of the swirling horror of elements outside the door of the tent, and her panic rose.

"Aang!"

Then, it stopped. The sand dropped back to the ground, the fire died out completely, and even the lights in the sky slowed to a gentle meander through the sky. Aang's tattoo's stopped glowing, and she looked down to see his familiar grey eyes looking into hers. Panting they looked at each other, Aang's expression that of complete horror before he sat up, gently pulling himself out and away from her.

"Aang wh-" she swallowed, grabbing one of the blankets and pulling it up against her front.

"I'm sorry," he interrupted hoarsely. "I'm sorry I don't know what happened."

Panting she looked at him, and not for the first time she became truly fearful of the darkness the framed his soul, that twisted presence that she had fought against whenever she healed him. But what truly broke her heart was seeing that same fear mirrored in his eyes, and she realised that he knew it was there too, perhaps he had known about it all this time, perhaps this is the real reason he hadn't wanted her coming to the spirit world with him. She took a deep breath and looked down. "I really hoped I had been imagining it," she murmured. Aang looked sharply up at her, his eyes flashing.

"Imagining it? Imagining what?" She looked up at him, and understand flooded his features. "You already knew that was there." Nodding her gaze dropped down. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, his throat constricted, sounding for all the world like a lost child.

"I guess, like you, I hoped you could control it," she replied softly. Bitterly Aang shook his head, praying for his heart to stop racing as it was, for his head to clear for just a damn second so he could think. He saw Katara dropping the blanket from her front, the sight of her naked body stirring the beast inside him once more and he looked away. If Katara had noticed she didn't let on, and she adjusted the blankets and fur, before reaching out and slipping her hand into his.

"It doesn't matter now," she said softly. "We're both fine, no one was hurt."

"Right," Aang groaned.

"You're you now, and I need you to hold me." He looked across her at, surprised.

"Is that really a good idea after what ju-"

"Aang, please, just come to bed."

Feeling somewhat sick and still shaky he gently slid under the blanket next to her, complying as she rolled onto her side, pulling her arm with him so that her back lay flush against his chest. Comforted by her warmth he lay his face against her hair, his arm tightened around her arm and clenching her hand.

"I'm sorry I frightened you," he whispered. Katara gripped his hand in response.

"Aang, we know that nothing's going to be the same as it was until Tonrar is gone, you haven't anything to be sorry about." He took a deep breath, thankful for her kind words. "And besides," she added, her voice low and seductive, "apart from all the glowing I'd say that's the best sex we've ever had."

Aang shut his eyes tight, trying to fight back the groan as the pain in his heart reached almost breaking point, and tears began to burn his eyes. "Yeh," he whispered in response. _Except that wasn't me_. He held back his pain until he felt her breathing slow as Katara drifted off to sleep, and then he stopped fighting. The tears falling freely down his face as he muffled the sound of his sobs with the back of his hand.

**A/N: I have a bit of feedback from folks asking for more sex scenes, which you know, Kataang fic, I get ya. But I think it's important for me to stress that, whilst lemons certainly play their part, in this particular series every scene is relevant to the future plot, and to the development of the character, rather than adding in the odd sex scene because, well, couples do that sort of thing. I have been quiet nervous about this particularly sex scene because it shows, not only that their relationship is developing past the old problems, but that Aang is still very much falling apart despite having Katara at his side once again. And it also reveals something about Katara, something that I've spent many long boring days at work musing over, trying to decide whether or not I should manipulate that to further the story. But, I've always identified quite strongly with Katara, and it's been no huge surprise to me to read back through the first two books and realise that I've injected quite a few of my own personality traits into her character. So, I've decided to run with it. And as for what that 'it' is, y'all just have to wait and see ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

Katara woke the next morning, the cool desert breeze drifting in over the long extinguished fire and gently brushing against her bare skin, rousing her from her deep and comfortable sleep. She reached out her arms, searching for the warm body she had fallen asleep next to, and when her arms met nothing but empty air she opened her eyes, squinting through the bright sunlight that was angled just right in the sky to be able to penetrate their secret cave. The blankets where Aang had been sleeping were pulled back and left crumpled at her feet and she quickly sat up, propping herself on her right arm, holding her blanket up to her chest. As she shook the fog of sleep and tried to become more accustomed to her surroundings, ignoring the steady pain already rising in her head, the memories of the night before drifted back to her. The lights in the sky, she and Aang making love, and the horrifying glow in his eyes that still sent a shudder through her. She had hoped that he wouldn't blame himself, that he wouldn't see his slipping into the Avatar State as anything more than what it was, but she knew Aang better than that by now. Groaning to herself she rubbed her forehead. Although Aang's closeness had helped her overcoming the sickening sensation that this world left across her body last night, now that she woke to find him gone she felt the spirit world bearing down on her, talons sinking into her skin, and cruel whispers in her ear. It wanted her gone. She sighed and rubbed her hand across her face.

"Aang?"

Her gentle call remained unanswered, and frowning she reached around, grabbing her dress and pulling it over her head, before picking up the blanket and wrapping it around her. It had to be early for it to still be so cold in the dessert. She ducked out of the cave, squinting and shivering.

"Aang ..?"

Again, there was no response. She stepped away from the rocks into the open desert, worry setting in as she looked across the still, sandy landscape. She could see no footprints, no sign of Aang, and after the events of last night and the inevitable guilt he was feeling, a sense of dread started to grow in her stomach. A gentle breeze blew across the desert that lay directly in front of her, picking up sand and gently blowing her hair across her face. Furiously she swung round, looking behind her, brushing her hair irritably away from her eyes.

"Aang where are you?" She yelled, her voice impatient. The soft rustle of air came from her left and she looked round to see Aang drop from the taller rocks with his usual elegance, the doleful innocence on his face doing nothing to placate her. She rounded on him, scowling. "Where were you? Why didn't you answer me when I called?" Aang looked taken back.

"I was meditating," he replied, gesturing upwards to the rock with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Katara, I didn't hear you."

"Fine," she snapped in response. Aang stood before her, dressed only in his trousers, and in the light of the new day she noticed things that she simply hadn't the night before. Aang had always been slim, Sokka would often joke that his glider was bigger than he was, but he had never been as painfully thin as he was now. But somehow his confused face and skinny form managed to anger her even more, and with her head now pounding she turned away from him, storming back towards the cave where she quickly climbed inside. She heard his voice behind her, but her agitation only grew. She knew the spirit world wanted her gone, that somehow it was causing this pain and confusion in her head, she knew that she should fight against it, but instead she felt her hands shake, and her teeth grind together, and her irritation growing with each second.

"Katara?"

She looked back over her shoulder to see Aang crouched in the entrance of the cave, his large grey eyes regarding her with concern and apprehension. She shut her eyes tightly, looking away from him and forcing herself to take several deep breaths. She felt Aang move beside her, and through her slitted eyes watched as he reached a hand forward to take her shoulder, before his hand clenched and he pulled away sharply. With a low growl she shook her head.

"I'm fine," she muttered. "It's just this place."

Aang sat in silence behind her, even the slow, steady sound of his breathing enough to set her teeth of edge. Then, just as his silence began to grow too much for her limited patience, he spoke.

"I need to talk to you about that."

She looked back sharply, frowning. Aang now sat with his back against the rock of the cave, his grey eyes looking vaguely at the ground whilst he fingered the edge of one of the blankets.

"Well?"

He winced slightly as her sharp voice cut over him.

"I think we need to go back to the tear. This place isn't good for you, and I can find Tonrar much faster on my own."

For a moment she just stared at him, watching him trying to maintain his sightless watch over the cave wall, anything to avoid turning his gaze to her, and then she laughed. A short, humorless bark that made him all but jump.

"Well, it's a new approach, I'll give you that," she scoffed, before grabbing the blanket from his hand and shoving it in her pack.

"What?" Aang blinked at her.

"Well usually its something along the lines of ... 'I just want you to be safe, Katara', 'it's too dangerous, Katara'." She continued to grab supplies, throwing them haphazardly into the packs. "But this is the first time you've outright told me that I just get in your way!" She picked up the small sack of liché berries and laughed, holding them up in front of him. "Maybe you have a pair after all!"

"Wh- Katara that's not what I meant!"

"Oh but you were doing so well!" She threw the berries into the pack, before rounding on him, her eyes flashing. "Why do you have to keep lying to me? Just say it. 'I don't want you here, Katara'. Just tell me I get in your way, go on!"

He looked back at her wide eyed, mouth agape. "Th- Katara, that's not what I mean and you know it," he finished, somewhat lamely.

"Do I? How exactly do you think wasting time taking me back to the tear is going to help you find Tonrar faster?"

"It's not just about that!" Aang replied, his voice rising now. "You said it yourself, it's this place, it doesn't want you here, it's making you all ..." he hesitated, looking away from her and fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Making me all what?" She growled, narrowing her eyes.

"Unreasonable!" He responded. Katara raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Aang retorted, though his voice audibly wavered. "It's making you mad and cranky and w-_I_ don't have time for mad and cranky."

"You don't have time for mad and cranky?" She repeated. "_You_ don't have time? You've been the king of mad and cranky for the best part of a year!"

"That has nothing to do with this," Aang muttered.

"Doesn't it? It's your cranky attitude and your stubbornness to deal with all of this on your own that got us into this mess in the first place!" She saw face drop, his eyes betraying his hurt and she knew she'd gone too far. But the anger in her chest was beyond control at this point, and she turned roughly away from him, grabbing her poorly packed back pack. "Whatever, what does it even matter? Unless you're going to drag me all the way back to the tear kicking and screaming I'm going after Tonrar."

"But this isn't your fight," Aang mumbled. She stopped in the entrance of the cave, the blood draining from her face and settling into a swirling mass in her stomach.

"Not my fight?" She dropped the pack, turning back to face him. "Tonrar killed my grandmother. Or have you forgotten?"

"Of course not ..."

"Then finish up and let's get going." Without even a final glance at him she turned, leaving him standing alone in the cave, before swiftly turning in the direction of the large city they had been chasing the day before, her face sit grimly as she started to walk.

Aang caught up with her not five minutes later, though kept a respectable distance, trudging along just out of sight behind her. For her, that was preferable. She knew he was right. Well, partly. The spirit world didn't want her inside of it, and she could feel the pressure on all sides as if it was trying to simply squeeze her out of existence, and as strong as she was no doubt it would only be a matter of time until it crushed her. Perhaps she had meant every word she had said to Aang back at the cave, but she knew the real her, the Katara of the mortal world, would have never said it to him that way. She would have never gone out to hurt him. But hurt him she had, and that was something they would both have to deal with when the time was right. For now, aside from fighting against the stabbing, biting pressure of the spirit world, all she needed to focus on was Tonrar. For all he had taken from Aang he had taken in equal measure from her ... her grandmother and step grandfather, her world. He had tried to take her life and not days before he had very nearly taken Aang's. If Innua hadn't dragged her along to Koh's cave then Tonrar would have succeeded, sliced Aang's throat and left his body in the snow whilst the world rotted and turned to hell. She knew that all of that was still possible ... if it took them too long to find Tonrar, or if Aang wasn't up to taking the son of a bitch out, then everyone she knew and loved would perish along with their world. There was more to her being here than just keeping watch over Aang. She had sworn to herself that she would end Tonrar for good, she would take his life and leave him dead in the snow and there would be no one to cry for him. No one to mourn that vile creatures death. Aang never could, never would, kill Tonrar, and as much as she trusted him, as the Avatar, to do what was right, she knew there was also no way there could be any peace in her life whilst that spirit still breathed. From behind her Aang watched sadly as her hands gripped into fists.

As the morning passed on by the desert made it clear it was going to be no less brutal than it had been the day before. The temperature rose quickly, the wind kicked sand up into their eyes and their water supplies began to fall dangerously low. Katara struggled on despite the pounding in her head and the increasingly dark thoughts that seemed to be invading her mind, and though for the most part she kept her head against the gusts, she would occasionally fix her gaze on the horizon ahead, catching glimpses of the city, encouraging her onwards. In truth, neither of them knew what they were going to find there. It could well be a trap and they could find themselves set upon by wild spirits again, or worse, but it could also be where Tonrar was hiding ... their journey's end could be in that city, and she, Katara, could finally get her revenge. But there was also a possibility of there being nothing there, that they should find themselves in an empty city in the middle of a vast desert, trapped with little food and almost no water. But she couldn't allow herself to consider that possibility. The pup spirit had pointed them here for a reason. Granted, the spirit had also led them into a trap, but maybe that was just bad luck.

Part way through their journey she heard the sand slide behind her, and looked round to see that Aang was fairing far worse than she was. He may have been her pillar of strength the night before, but looking at him now, exhausted and limping and struggling with the sand giving way under his already unstable footing, she could see that he was far weaker than he had let on. _Perhaps he's the one slowing me down_, she thought to herself bitterly, before instantly becoming angry at the cruel thoughts her mind seemed to be throwing at her. She stopped at the crest of another dune, looking away from Aang struggling up the hill and back to the city. It was so close now, if they pushed they could make it before the afternoon gave way to evening, but once glance back at Aang made it clear that there was to be no pushing right now.

"Aang?" He looked up at her, and she could see him trying to cover the tiredness in his expression. "We need to stop."

"Why? We're nearly there."

"Because you can hardly walk," she snapped back, again wishing that bitterness would just pass. "We have plenty hours of daylight left, we can afford to take a quick break." If Aang had any thoughts of arguing he didn't voice them, and he nodded in response, grimacing as he straightened out his back. "We can sit in the shade of this dune, look."

In truth, there really wasn't much shade to speak of. The sun was just past its highest point in the sky, and though that meant that it should theoretically start to get cooler from this moment on, for now they were sat in almost direct sunlight, the heat still leaving their bodies layered in sweat. It was only when Aang sat down, wincing as he rested his back against the hot sand, that Katara was able to see fully how much his leg was hurting him. He couldn't lie it flat, instead sitting with his knee bent, his hand gripping his hip as he closed his eyes and his lips automatically curled.

"Let me have a look at it," Katara ordered, grabbing her hip flask and shaking it slightly to test how much water remained. Aang opened an eye, looking over at her and pushing the pain from his face.

"You'll need that water. I'm fine, just a bit sore."

"Aang you're practically shaking," she reasoned. "Or am I still being unreasonable?"

He flashed her an apologetic look, opening both his eyes and she sighed.

"Sorry. Look, just bear with me ok? This place makes me mad and cranky, remember?"

"I didn't me-"

"Oh shit me that wasn't a dig." Aang raised his eyebrows and Katara glowered at him. "Look this place is trying to flatten me, I'm sure you can forgive me a couple swear words."

"I just don't think I've ever heard you use language like that before!" Aang replied, shocked. "I mean, it's pretty much become part and parcel with Sokka and Toph but it really doesn't suit you."

Katara pulled the lip from her flask and brandished it angrily at him. "You know I'm not some girl that just sits there and looks pretty. I can kick your damn ass and you know it. Now take your trousers off."

Aang hesitated. "But this is really hot sand ..."

She threw her pack at him, amusement finally managing to find it's way through the haze of irritation and anger that clouded her. "Well sit on the pack then take your trousers off. Clearly you don't have to be smart to be the Avatar."

Aang shot her a glare as he untied his sash. "I might just drag you back to the tear, you know. Spirit world Katara really is mad and cranky."

"Don't push me, Avatar," Katara responded, pulling the water from her flask and flashing him a dangerous look. In response a small smile pulled at Aang's lips and, as badly as her head hurt, she knew that Aang wasn't angry with her for what she had said to him back at the cave. She dropped to his side to look at his leg, and a disappointed hiss passed through her teeth. The area around his right hip and half way down his thigh was horribly bruised, painted yellow and purple and all shades in-between. She tentatively lifted his shirt, seeing that the bruising had spread partway up his side.

"You weren't nearly healed up enough to cross over in the first place," she muttered. "Let alone walk so far, and take on a pack of angry spirits, and, uh-" she blushed. "Other activities.

"I didn't have a choice," Aang replied gruffly, wincing as she placed her hands against his leg, the water glowing between them. "I just need to be more careful in future and not-" he stopped, clearing his throat and focusing his attention on a dune in the distance. Katara looked up at him, appraising his expression carefully before sighing and looking back down.

"So, is that what all this taking me back to the tear thing is really about? What happened last night?"

"No," Aang said immediately, though his voice far less convincing than he had probably intended.

"Because it's really not that big of a deal," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "Nothing bad happened, and it's not something to be embarrassed about," she added, giving him a meaningful look, "if that's what you're thinking. I mean, if I was the Avatar I probably would have slipped into the Avatar State then too."

"That's not exacty wh- ouch!"

"Sorry, your chi is so twisted up I have to push a bit further," Katara said, her hands settling on his hip down as the blue glow spread across the bruising.

"Let's not talk about my chi, or last night, right now," Aang grumbled, face still contorted somewhat with the pain.

"I just want you to know it wasn't anything to worry about," she pressed, looking up at his face once more. "And if it happens again, well, we'll just deal with it."

"Katara, please, I don't want to talk about that right now."

Again Aang turned his focus to the sand dunes ahead, avoiding her gaze, and she frowned. She could see, not only by his face, but in the knotted nature of his chi that there was something he was hiding from her about last night, something beyond the embarrassment and guilt she had expected to see in him. She knew Aang tended to over think a lot of things, and no doubt this was just another of those instances, but there was almost pain in his eyes as he closely inspected any and all things that weren't herself, a pain that she was sure had nothing to do with his leg. _More secrets_, she thought bitterly.

"Right, well I've done all that I can for now," she said, putting what remained of the water back in her flask and standing up. "Until we find a fresh water source I don't think I can do any better a job right now."

"Thank you, Katara."

"Don't mention it." She gestured for him to pass her back her pack. She knew that by now he must know that she knew he wasn't telling the entire truth, but the way he continued to avoid looking at her made it clear that she wasn't going to be getting anything more out of him any time soon. Aang got unsteadily to his feet, handing her back her pack before grabbing his own and hitching it over his shoulders. Wincing still he looked over to where the city stood, blurring in the haze, but still very much real.

"Let's keep going," he said, adjusting his shoulder straps and limping onwards. For a moment Katara stayed where she was, watching him, before sighing and taking his lead.

The healing session had certainly seemed to take the edge off, and Aang walked with relatively more mobility for the next length of the journey. On this occasion Katara followed behind, focusing as much of her energy as she could spare on fighting against the attack from the spirit world. It was started to get stronger, she knew it, and she found herself simply praying that whatever they would find in the city would bring some relief to her. It wasn't long, however, before it became clear that the spirit world was no longer content with fighting her just mentally.

It was as they crested the final dune, the city walls tall and imposing ahead of them, that they each began to finally feel some sort of ease. Together the pair stood, appraising the walls and the large, gate-less partition between them that lead directly into the city. Aang had kicked off his boots, digging his heels into the sand to try and get some sort of bearing on what, if anything was inside of the city, and the crease in his forehead as he looked out revealed that he had yet to feel anything.

"So, it's empty?" Katara asked quietly, her untrusting eyes still scaling the walls looking for life.

"Not for as far as I can feel," Aang replied. "I don't get it," he muttered irritably. "Why did that spirit lead us here if there's nothing here?"

"Maybe the spirit didn't lead us," Katara shrugged. "It could have just been coincidence."

"No," Aang responded sharply. "It was showing us where to go."

"Well, shall we go in anyway? I don't really fancy staying in this desert any longer than we need to." Aang sighed and nodded.

"Yes, but stay behind me, ok? There could be things in there that even Toph wouldn't have been able to see."

"She really wouldn't have liked that."

"No, she'd probably bury me in seven foot of rock if she had he-" He paused, eyes wide as he looked widely around them. "Wait, shh." Katara froze, frowning slightly and she looked nervously round. "Shh, can you feel that?"

"You forget I'm not an earth bender," she snapped, eyes darting about. "Aang I can't see anything."

"There's something else here," he replied, digging his heals even further into the sand. "I can't really make much out ... something big." He hurriedly pulled his feet from the sand and pulled his boots on, before grabbing his hip flask and chucking it towards Katara. "Something headed this way."

"I can't see anything!" Katara repeated. "Aang are you sure?"

It was then that a low rumble spread across the sand beneath them, the dune they were stood on shaking, the grains cascading down its side. They looked back across the desert, away from the city, and watched in horror as a large worm of sand seemed to appear across the surface, winding its way towards them so quickly that they were only able to jump back a couple paces before the sand before them erupted, the thick grains threatening to bury them as they covered their faces. A high pitched, almost metallic roar filled the air, and wide eyed the pair looked up to see a large faceless beast, its head nothing but snapping jaws on a long snake-like body, bearing down on them.

"Yeh, I'm sure."

Katara could have killed him for his poor timing when it came to his sarcasm, but then came the second high pitched screaming as the sand worm leaned back, its head poised for a strike. She pulled the water from her flask, holding it before her as a shield.

"Aang what do we do?!" She yelled over the deafening howl.

"We run!" He grabbed her roughly around the wrist, making her drop all of her water in the sand as he pulled her with him down the dune just as the sand worm attacked, its face colliding with the sand, the wave picking the two benders up and throwing them across the desert. Katara landed painfully on the ground, sand billowing up into her face and making her cough, but before she'd had a second to get her bearing she felt Aang grab her once more, pulling her from the ground.

"Get to the city!" He yelled, pushing her unceremoniously forwards. Choking Katara looked back with streaming eyes to see Aang turn to face the spirit that was already back after them.

"Not without you!"

The worm lunged at them once more, and Aang was forced to grab her once more, jumping as hard as he could out of its path. Struggling to breathe through the faceful of sand Katara quickly shook her head, pulling herself up and looking back to Aang.

"You don't have any water left," he said. "Get to the city!"

"But Aang you can't-"

"GO!"

She watched as he pulled a wall of sand up between themselves and the worm, knocking it off course as it yet again threw itself at them, its body as tall as a temple crashing once more into a dune. With one last glance she turned and ran towards the city, praying that inside she would find water, a weapon, anything she could use to help him fight off the sand worm. Another thundering crash came from behind her and she looked back over her shoulder to see Aang jumping out of the way as he was attacked once more. She forced herself to run faster, the city was getting closer and closer. Had she been less panicked she could have perhaps appreciated the beauty of the smooth white marble and the curved stairs that led to the entrance, but panting heavily she took them two at a time, her boots skidding across the ground as she entered the wide courtyard beyond.

"Anything I can use, anything?!" She spun on the spot, eyes wide and breathing heavily until she spotted what seemed to be a depression and a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. "Please have water, please have water ..." She ran over, her boots clattering loudly against the white stone floor in the oddly silent city, and let out a cry of relief when she was that the fountain and the deep pond surrounding it were full of water.

"Yes! Thank the spirits." She bent as much as she could out, both arms held at her left side as she turned and sprinted back towards the desert, focusing all of her skill on not dropping a single drop of water. As she jumped down the stairs she had a heart stopping moment when she could see the worm, tall and searching, but no Aang. But as she looked she saw that the worm wasn't looking around for them, but shaking its head, screeching in irritation, and she saw Aang standing atop, trying with all his might to get the beast to turn around and thunder off in the opposite direction of the city.

"Aang!"

Both the Avatar and the sand worm heard her call, and both looked towards her. She sand worm, with its wide horrible mouth and several rows of unusually blunt teeth, hurried in her direction, lowering its head to burrow into the sand. Aang leaped free, and she heard him call her name in warning, but she was prepared. She had almost the entire contents of the pond in her hands and as the worm surfaced, its sightless head fixed up her, she attacked, the water encasing its front half and freezing around it. Then, keeping hold of the ice and yelling with the effort she pulled the spirit to the right, twisting its body out of the sand and letting more of her water to continue its deadly freezing cascade down the vile body. In that moment she saw red, her hands shaking with the anger that had been building up since they had arrived in the spirit world, and she let her water invade the spirits body, seeping into its pores and feeling its way deep into its organs. Then, with a gasp she let go, the worm falling to the ground, the head colliding with the steps and smashing, leaving the sand and the steps covered in pieces of frozen flesh and blood. She stood, her chest heaving as she panted.

"Katara!" Aang ran to her side, gasping and struggling with his hip, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Katara wh-" He stopped, looking at the shattered remains of the sand worm, his face a little green with both the pain and the realisation of what Katara had done. She braced herself, waiting for him to show his horror and his disappointment, but instead he turned to her, a shaking hand reaching out to cup her cheek as his grey eyes looked into her. "Are you ok?" She swallowed, looking back at him before, slowly, it dawned on her that she was. She was more than ok.

"Yes." She gently pulled away from Aang, looking back at the city. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm great in fact." She turned back to him. "The pain is gone, I can't feel the pressure any more."

Aang blinked in confusion, looking somewhat hesitantly back at the dead worm and then to her. "What, that thing was ..?"

She shook her head. "No, I think it's this city. I didn't notice at first because I was in such a panic, but as soon as I came in here the feeling just left." Grinning she reached out her hand for his, and doubtfully he took it, before she hurriedly led him inside.

The internal entrance courtyard was large and wide, the stone floor the same smooth white marble as the walls. Thriving fruit trees and shrubs surrounded them, with tall archways either side of them to frame the courtyard. In the center stood the now somewhat diminished pond, the fountain made from a stone that had an almost green tone to it, playing off the green tiled roofing of the smaller buildings that started just beyond the courtyard. But it wasn't just its beauty that marveled them, but how the sound of the desert beyond with his constant billowing wind and movement of sand had dimmed down to nothing, and all that they could hear was the lone chirping of a rather persistent bunting sat in one of the taller cherry trees, perhaps warning the rest of the bird life of the arrival of the two bruised and dirty travelers that had just charged into their home.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Katara breathed. She looked back when Aang had failed to answer, and saw him look dubiously around, clearly not nearly at ease as she was. "What's wrong?"

"I don't now yet," he mumbled in return. He looked back over his shoulder, frowning as he eyes looked up at the top of the walls that seemed to protect the city from the desert beyond.

"Is someone else here?" Katara asked.

"Yeh, me. And I'll tell you what my ass went to sleep ten minutes ago so how's about you start paying attention?"

Katara and Aang swung round, looking towards one of the arches on the left side upon which, leaning forward with elbows on knees and resting his chin on one hand, a young bald man with blue tattoos and orange robes sat, a positively bored look on his face.

"'Sup."

**A/N: Yeeeeeeeeh she's back! I am so sorry for leaving you all hanging for, what, two months? I have been very ill and very busy to boot, trying to make as much money as I can with my portraits and things to make up for not being able to get to the day job due to illness, so sadly the fanfics did find themselves on the back burner for a while. However, I promised y'all I would finish this story and I shall!**

**Either way, I hope you like the new chapter, I had to shorten it as the cut back to the Fire Nation made it much too big and cumbersome, so there's that to look forward to in the next chapter. Also, forgive me for the sand worm ... how was I supposed to write a desert scene ****_without_**** a sand worm? ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

The Fire Nation was used to its fair share of war and drama. Granted, the last century had been nothing but war for the entire world, but the difference between the other three Nations and the Fire Nation was that Fire was good at it.

Although there was yet to be any concrete evidence as to a coming war between the Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribe, the Firelord had wasted no time preparing his men and women at arms, setting sentries at each vantage point from the surrounding ocean, creating vast blockades from the snow and ice that for the first time could prove to be an advantage to them. In the wide courtyards of the barracks, soldiers practiced their sword skills and bending, making it very clear, although the Hundred Year War had ended over five years ago, they had not forgotten exactly what they had been trained for. Even the civilians ran through their evacuation drills, each of them familiarising themselves with the closest safe point should the Northern ships appear on the horizon. It ran like a beautifully-oiled machine, a Nation that were already so familiar with war that it seemed almost natural to them, especially when their Firelord stood, always amongst them, his tall frame glowing in the snow.

At first, Chief Hakoda had tried to advise the Firelord against informing his people of a war that may not even happen. In silence Zuko had sat at his throne, listening as the Chief ran through his proposal, as his friends sat around them.

"It will cause a panic, Zuko," Hakoda had explained patiently. "Surely we should wait until we know about this invasion before worrying your people?"

Zuko had only remained silent, and Hakoda had let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, I have been managing people for longer than I care to think about. The idea of war terrifies people, and when we're already in this position with the storm and your dwindling supplies, I doubt the reaction will be anything other than fear and negativity."

It was Zuko's turn to sigh, taking a deep breath, his amber eyes focusing on the Chief's brilliant blue ones.

"You're forgetting one very crucial detail," he had said, his voice bold and inspiring. "We are Fire Nation. War doesn't frighten us, and I can assure you none of my people will be letting their fear overcome them when the Northern Water Tribe are at our shores."

From that point onward, the Capital had only proven him right. Huddled in the storm, torches held high and faces resolute the people had listened to their Firelord inform them of the possible invasion from the North. He had called for the great men and women of the Nation to unite and fight for their home and their family and their Nation, and a deafening roar had come as their reply. In truth, it had sent chills down the companions spines, each of them remembering how the Fire Nation had haunted much of their lives, and Hakoda was left with no doubt that Zuko's people wouldn't stand down to this enemy.

For the other members of the gang, there was undeniably an air of concern and apprehension settling over them, particularly as Suki's due date grew closer and closer. All of them had been born in a time of war, yet this new era of peace that they had all hoped for when Firelord Ozai had been defeated had left everyone feeling hopeful. When Sokka had proposed to Suki it had been with thoughts of their future in mind ... of the children they would have and the kinder, peaceful world they would get to grow up in. But now their future, and their unborn child's future was unsure. Suki remained remarkably positive, keeping her focus on her body and the child within, and whilst Sokka was around his wife he maintained face, looking for all the world like a man who couldn't wait to become a father. But as soon as he left her room, his face would drop and the stress he was under became painfully clear, and so he threw himself into the preparations, working closely with Zuko and General Mamoru, and the Fire Nations best engineer, Griza Masina. At Sokka's request the air ships had been called out early from their permanent retirement, with plans to make them less detectable and much more efficient in the heavy storms than what they hoped the Northern Water Tribe's ships and mounted weaponry would be.

The Air Acolytes, Xing Ying and Yee-Li had been left in charge of caring for Appa and the newest addition to their team. Yuva, in all her adorableness, had started to grow from a little issue to one big problem, the rate of her growth and her lack of inhibition making her a rather dangerous pet to have around the Palace. Appa's trust in Xing Ying, and Yuva's adoration for her, had made her the obvious choice to try and tame the young bison, and with Yee-Li being so objected towards being involved with any part of the fight, she had been sent off to join her.

But the Air Acolytes weren't the only ones who had fallen into a role early on. Just as Sokka had gotten involved in the artillery side of preparations, Toph had appointed herself as a member of the Fire Nation's security team, using her earth bending skills to keep a close watch on all of the comings and goings in and out of the Palace. To the surprise of nobody, she proved herself very good at the task, and had in fact shown that she was incredibly versatile when it came to improving the efficiency of her rounds. The day after they had returned from sea, and had heard the news of Aang and Katara's trip into the spirit world from Hakoda she had gone to Sokka with a request, to help her create a pair of metal boots that she could could wear when exposed to the bitter, freezing conditions of the streets of the Capital without compromising her ability to do her job. It had taken them until lunch time to fashion the boots, which had a removable sole that would slid into the back of her heal should she need to get a much closer look at her surroundings.

"I can't see these, but I can tell they're completely badass." Sokka had laughed, grinning proudly as he too admired their product.

Dressed in her furs and metal boots, Toph's short stature and cold glare had become quite the talking point in the Capital, people coming out to watch and she patrolled the area twice daily with two of Mamoru's top men. But as bizarre as she looked, there wasn't a soul that would face her, and Toph could often barely contain the self satisfied grin from spreading across her lips when she heard them whisper in awe.

It was during one of Toph's daily rounds that their first true indication of the coming invasion appeared to them. The day had started just like all the others, with their morning meeting to discuss any change plans or developments that had taken place the day previous. The barricades placed strategically across the mountain landscape that the Capital was built upon in order to make the most tactical use of their archers and fire benders were almost complete, with only the long range barricades close to the Palace left to finish. Sokka had proudly stated that the air ships were well on their way to completion and that he had complete confidence that they would excel in the heavy storms. Xing Ying had piped up that, although she would still dive head first into furniture and people, Yuva almost always came to her name now, so that had to be considered some sort of progress. From Toph's perspective, she had little time for the baby bison and had failed too coo over her as the others had. She supposed for Aang finding Yuva must have been an incredible moment, seeing that there was more that survived from his culture than just himself, Appa and Momo, but to her this rambunctious and annoying little bison reminded her that Aang wasn't here, and that there was always that chance that he may never be.

Hiding the bitterness she felt she had stood, indifferent to what Xing Ying had said despite it encouraging a rare chuckle from the others, lowering her hands and tightening the belt around her waist. Since she and Sokka had fashioned her boots she had taken to wearing a metal waist belt that she curled around herself using her bending. Upon the belt sat an additional layer of metal bands that she could call upon when needed. Sokka had likened them to his boomerang, and in a sense their function was the same.

"If all you ladies don't mind I'm going to start my rounds," she announced.

"I think Dekho and Heishi are still with Mamoru," Zuko said, though he kept his eyes fixed on the masses of paper work he had on his lip.

"Yeh yeh, don't worry, I won't forget the damn baby sitters," Toph muttered, turning on her heel. From the beginning she had said that she could do the rounds on her own, but Mamoru had insisted on Toph bringing two of her chosen guards with her. Zuko, being the push over he was, had agreed and Toph had been forced to drag Lieutenant Dekho and his underling, Heishi, along with her. She was pretty sure that they were there to keep an eye on her as much as they were the coastline. She stopped outside of the General's office, rapping her knuckles against the door impatiently until Mamoru opened, bristled and irritated by Toph's rude interruption.

"You finished grilling them?" Toph asked before the General could speak. "Got a job to do and all that."

Mamoru opened her mouth to respond, but instead stood back, holding the door wide.

"You're dismissed," she said to Dekho and Heishi. The two bowed to their superior, before filing out, and hurrying after Toph who had already turned on her heel and walked down the corridor.

Truthfully, they weren't so bad. Dekho had a good sense of humour, whilst Heishi tended to keep pretty much to himself most of the time, following her lead and only acting when asked. She certainly could have been lumped with much worse. But none-the-less the fact that Mamoru had insisted on baby sitters pissed her off.

"No time for pleasantries this morning then, Miss Beifong?" Dekho asked.

"You bet your sweet ass there isn't," she returned shortly. "Quit your yabbering." Toph ignored the dark chuckle from the the Lieutenant, bracing herself for the bitter gale bursting through the front doors as the guards stood by them pulled them open for her. _It's getting colder, _she noted, grimacing as the freezing temperature instantly left her cheeks flushed. If Aang didn't hurry up dealing with whatever he was dealing with in the spirit world soon he would be coming back to find the Capital home to a thousand icicles, and she sure as hell would be raising the finger in salute as thanks.

Her route took her mainly around the perimeter of the Capital, a long walk of an hour or so, past the main mass of the barricades and the docks and coastline where the she was betting to spot anything if it headed their way. So far, they had seen nothing, but although everyone else in the Fire Nation was expecting to see large Northern Water Tribe ships on the horizon, Toph wasn't willing to believe that they wouldn't send a smaller party first. Someone that could slip past their lookouts, getting the lay of the land and the Firelords defenses before slinking back off to tell that slimy weasel Hanh. If the Northern Tribe ever did come here she would be the first in line to take the so-called General down a peg or two, perhaps tie him to a life boat and see how he faired out in the violent, open sea ...

"There's a lot more activity at the docks this morning."

Toph heard Dekho's comment, and though she had already cast her unique sight over the dockyards once she paused and pushed yet again, slipping the metal sole of her boots back into her heel so that she could get as good a look as possible.

"Yeh, but nothing we need to worry about. Sokka mentioned that he wanted to adapt one of the ships for battle."

"Impressive," Heishi muttered to himself. If Toph could roll her eyes she would have done. The threesome continued their patrol, Dekho and Heishi both nodding to citizens as they passed, whilst Toph ignored them. She, after all, had a job to do.

It wasn't until the end of their morning rounds that the first Northern Water Tribe member walked on Fire Nation soil since Innua had left. It was pretty hard to make out any subtle sounds over the howling wind and biting cold, but she heard it none-the-less, the gentle thud, the sound of water lapping against wood, and hoarse, tired breaths. She froze, raising her fist to indicate that the men behind her do the same, kicking her sole back once more and focusing all her attention on the ground below her and she slammed down her foot. Not far from them there was someone lying on the coast, someone she was almost certain wasn't Fire Nation. Quick as a flash she stalked forwards, lowering her hands to waist level, gripping her fists and pulling the lose bands of metal from her belt, before throwing her hands forward. With a surprised cry the bands made contact with a pair of wrists, wrapping around them and pinning them to the ground, and instantly Dekho and Heishi raised their spears as the figure became clear through the storm, grunting and panting.

"Boy didn't you pick the wrong day to invade the Fire Nation?" Toph jeered, standing at the man's head, her fists on her hips. The man, soaked and dressed in torn blue clothes lay on his back, arms spread wide as the metal bands kept him trapped on the ground. He looked up at the short but imposing figure looming over him and swallowed.

"Please, I'm not ... I'm not here to attack anyone," he managed, still breathing heavily. From the feel of him through the ground Toph could tell that he had only just washed up to shore, his battered boat not far from him down the coast. She raised her hand and waved her fist towards it, and Heishi broke away and went to investigate.

"Not that you'd be any use if you were," Toph said, curling her upper lip. "If this is the first of the Northern invasion I really don't think we have anything to worry about."

"You ... know?" Toph barked with laughter.

"Of course we knew. Your super secret plan ain't nearly as super secret as you thought it was." She raised her head, cocking it slightly in Heishi's direction. "Anything worthy of note?"

"Nothing," Heishi replied, still leaning into the boat. "Completely empty and looks like it's going to fall apart any minute."

"Alright then, well let's get to it." She cracked her knuckles, turning her sightless gaze back down on the man on the ground. "Ok, if you know me, which you won't, then you'll know that I really don't care much for messing around, so I'm gonna be straight with you. Either you tell me why you're here, or I kick you back in that big wide ocean and let those weights drag you down."

Dekho stirred behind her, alarmed, but she ignored him, keeping her focus on the man cowering below her.

"I ... I'm here to give a warning!" He said quickly. "I need to speak with the Firelord."

"And why would I let you do that?"

"Because you are all in very grave danger, and I want to help you."

Toph frowning, her feet pressed into the sodden earth. She sensed no word of a lie from this man, but he was still one of them.

"We know the Northern Tribe are planning an invasion," she said coldly. "Your warning has come quite a few weeks late, I'm afraid."

"But there are things you don't know," the man pressed. "Things about the Avatar!"

Toph went rigid, her breath hitched. She couldn't think what he could possibly know about Aang that they already didn't ... they knew he was in the spirit world with Katara, they knew that he had been beaten by Tonrar and gravely injured. But the certainty and the urgency in his voice alarmed her, and left her feeling very uneasy. She was also certain that, the longer she stood by him, the more she recognised him. That she had felt him before.

"Grab him," she ordered.

Dekho and Heishi moved forwards, grabbing the young man and pulling him to his feet. With a flick of her hand the two metal bands round his wrists came together in front of him like shackles.

"I'll take you to Firelord Zuko," she said. "But I'd get praying that you have something to tell us that we don't already know, or you're really going to regret coming here."

The horns blared as Toph, the guards, and their prisoner scaled the hill to the Palace. Mamoru was first to the scene, her eyes flashing dangerously at the sight of the man hauled between them.

"Who is this?" She demanded stopping in front of Toph.

"My prisoner," Toph responded. "Who has asked for audience with the Firelord."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that either myself or the Firelord would allow that?"

"Because he claims to have information that would be of use to us." Mamoru scoffed at her.

"And you think he's telling the truth?"

"I always know when someone it telling the truth," Toph replied with a smirk. "And I mean always."

With a stiff jerk of her head Mamoru indicated that they should follow her. With a grunt the prisoner was pulled forward with a flick of Toph's wrist, Dekho and Heishi pushing him after them. The guards pulled back the doors, narrowed eyes focusing on the Northern man who, wisely, chose to remain silent, keeping his face forward and his eyes locked on the back of Toph's head.

"Go," Mamoru said to one of the guards. "Speak to the Firelord, tell him that we have a prisoner for questioning."

The guard bowed, before turning and running down the wide corridor to the throne room. Mamoru paused, standing before Toph and waiting until the front gates were shut tight.

"The prisoner is secured?" Toph raised an eyebrow, before raising her hand. With another grunt the prisoners wrists were pulled up but the metal bands around them.

"He's not going anywhere without my say so."

"And he was alone?"

"Yes, Mamoru, he was alone. Trust me to do my job properly, won't you?" With a derisive grunt the General turned and lead them down the corridor.

Toph felt the shudder run through the prisoner as the tall doors to the the throne room opened with an ominous thud. The tall pillars either side of the central walk way aflame, casting an eerie shadow across the room. Upon his throne sat Firelord Zuko, flaming hairpiece on his head and a cold look in his eyes as he looked down at them. For the first time since Zuko had first taken the crown the fires the fired on the balcony upon which the throne sat were ablaze, and Toph realised just how serious Zuko had been when he said that the Fire Nation was prepared, and would not back down. If his aim had been to intimidate the prisoner then he certainly had done that, and she could feel the fast beating of the man's heart. Bitterly she found herself thinking of Aang once more, and how horrified he would have been to see Zuko intimidating a man in this way.

"Lieutenant Dekho, Guardsman Heishi, you can leave," Zuko said, his voice low and level. "Stand guard outside the doors."

Dekho and Heishi let go of the prisoner, who stumbled as they bowed, before leaving the room and shutting the tall doors behind them.

"Bring the prisoner forward."

With another flick of her wrist she pulled the metal bands around his wrists towards her, and dutifully the prisoner followed as they made their way to the clearing just before the throne. Chief Hakoda was also in the room, having long left his seat at the table. He now stood leaning against one of the pillars, and as they got closer and the flames illuminated their faces, Hakoda's eyes widened. As the prisoner stopped in front of the Firelord, both Toph and Mamoru took a step back, Mamoru bowing to the Firelord whilst Toph put her hands on her hips.

"You can start by telling us who you are," Zuko said, his cool gaze on the prisoners face.

"I know who he is." Hakoda stepped forward, his expression that of contempt as he looked at the man. The prisoner seemed to jump, having not seen the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe lurking in the shadows. "This is the man who kidnapped my daughter. The man who almost slit her throat. The man who was willing to watch the Avatar die."

A deafening silence ran out across the room, and the prisoner swallowed audibly.

"That wasn't exactly part of the plan," he said lamely.

"So you admit to these things?" Zuko demanded, raising an eyebrow.

The prisoner's eyes darted between Zuko and Hakoda. "Yes and no. Yes I kidnapped the Chief's daughter. Yes I followed Innua's orders when she told me to put a knife to her throat. But no, I wasn't willing to watch the Avatar die."

"Liar," Hakoda growled, his hands curling into fists.

"Well, I suppose that's true too," the prisoner said quietly. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the Firelord. "My name is Kanto. I am a soldier in the Northern Fighters and I serve Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe."

"Arnook would never allow this," Hakoda all my spat. "Arnook would never call for the kidnapping or my daughter and the attempted murder of the Avatar." At this, Kanto's eyes widened.

"Attempted? You mean the Avatar is still alive?"

Another silence followed his words, and Toph was somewhat taken back by the ecstatic relief in the prisoner's voice.

"Yes, the Avatar survived," Zuko said quietly.

"Then I have to speak with him! We can't wait any t-"

"Why are you here?" Zuko demanded, cutting over him. "You said that kidnapping Katara wasn't part of the plan. What plan?"

"See now this is why I really would like to speak with the Avatar," Kanto persisted.

"The Avatar isn't here, asswipe," Toph interrupted, making Kanto jump and Zuko frown. She sighed. "Well, he was annoying me," she muttered, sensing Zuko's irritation and crossing her arms across her chest.

"If you want to speak to someone you speak to me," Zuko said. "Now, why exactly did you kidnap Katara and what plan are you talking about?"

Kanto hesitated, before sighing once more. "The Avatar was supposed to be here when Innua and the others came here with supplies. Innua's plan was to force the Avatar to show her where the spirit, Koh, was. To capture him and leave him no choice but to take her to him. But when it turned out that the Avatar had already left we had to think of another plan." Kanto swallowed, hesitating a moment before continuing. "It was my idea to kidnap Katara."

Hakoda growled, taking a step forward, and despite it being the Firelord's throne it was clear that he intended to take care of Kanto himself. Toph moved forward to stop the Chief, but Kanto had already held out his hands.

"Wait, let me finish! I don't work for Innua. She thought I did, she trusted me, but I was came here to stop her, to stop her finding Koh and killing the Avatar."

"Hakoda ..." Toph held her hand forward, and slowly the Chief stepped back, eyes narrowed and glaring at Kanto.

"You have to understand," Kanto said quickly. "Innua ... Innua is a killer. She is cold and she is brutal and she would have killed me if she knew I wasn't on your side-"

"So you're a coward." Hakoda

"No, look I know you have no idea who I am and you have no reason to trust me, but please hear me out. I wasn't following Innua's orders I was manipulating her, do you understand? All Innua cared about was finding this spirit named Koh, a spirit who apparently captured her father, and she would kill the Avatar to do it. Hell she'd even kill the Avatar if she didn't need to, she wasn't exactly a fan ..."

"Get to the point," Zuko spat.

"I've never trusted her," Kanto replied, his voice now shaking with emotion. "I've known she was a killer and a monster since she was fourteen years old. But she trusted me, and when she revealed her plans to me and Hanh I knew that I couldn't stand by and let her get away with it. It wasn't just the Avatar who was in danger, it was my people too. My family. She promised Hanh all the power in the Northern Tribe if he helped her get what she wanted. She promised him Arnook's place on the ice throne."

"She was going to usurp Arnook?" Hakoda demanded.

"Yes, now do you understand?" Kanto said, breathless. "She promised that fool power, and I promised to stand by Innua's side providing I was able to get my revenge on the Fire Nation." Kanto paused, looking back at the Firelord, who sat with his brow furrowed.

"I followed Innua here, not to help her capture the Avatar, but to warn him. To warn all of you. But when we got here and we realised that the Avatar wasn't here, I held back, waiting to see what Innua's next move would be. It was then that the letter from Chief Hakoda arrived, telling her that Koh was in the South Pole. I had no other choice! I didn't have time to warn you, Firelord Zuko, of what was going on, so I suggested that we kidnap the Avatar's girl."

"Her name is Katara," Hakoda growled. "And why kidnap her? How did that help your plan?"

"Because it couldn't have been anyone else," Kanto replied. "I needed someone there, someone who would fight against Innua. And someone who, should the Avatar come back and learn was missing, he would do everything in his power to find. And if the Avatar didn't come back? Well, she was strong, the South Pole was her home, and I knew that she would fight for it and against Innua if she got the chance."

"You could have gotten her killed," Zuko hissed. "What if she didn't get a chance and Innua killed her too?"

"I just had to hope that wasn't going to happen ..." Kanto muttered quietly, shaking his head and looking to the ground. "I know it wasn't the best idea, but it was all I could do at the time. As luck would have it, the Avatar was already at the South Pole when we got there-"

"And you let Innua force him to show her where Koh was!" The Chief cried. "You let her fight against Koh, and held us prisoner as Tonrar almost killed Aang. Surely, if your plan was to stop her and to help Aang that was your moment. That was when you should have stepped in!"

Kanto averted his gaze, looking down at his heels, his breath quickening. "I didn't know who Innua's father was," he said quietly. "When Innua faced Koh and it looked as though he was beating her I thought that it would be better if I let him ... but then ..." He grimaced. "Then he stole her face. I wanted her stopped, you understand, but I never wanted her dead." His voice grew hoarse at this point. "I know I should have run then, that I should have freed Katara and yourself, but I couldn't move. The Avatar told us to run, but I remember just shaking my head, refusing to believe what had happened, that I had perhaps been responsible for Innua's death by not acting sooner." He looked up again, his eyes stinging with tears. "It wasn't until I realised that Innua's father ... Tonrar ... was going to kill the Avatar that I acted, that things started to make sense again." He paused again, his hands visibly shaking. "I went straight to the ship whilst Kaneq went to Hanh and the others. We saw Tonrar stab the Avatar ... saw him throw him against the rock. We both believed that the Avatar was dead, and that's what Kaneq told Hanh."

For Toph and Zuko, the news of exactly what Tonrar had done to Aang was news to them. Toph, in all her courage, felt light headed and sick, and she could tell that Zuko was just as horrified by the thoughts of Aang being stabbed and thrown against a rock as she was.

"I realised that, though I had failed to stop Innua, failed to save the Avatar, I could still warn you of what's coming. First Hanh will return to the Northern Water Tribe to amass an army. He will tell Arnook that the Firelord is responsible for Innua's death, and that they had discovered that the Avatar had been killed in the storm, and that he should allow Hanh to take an army of soldiers back to the Fire Nation to avenge Innua." He shook his head in sadness. "But Hanh doesn't know that you already know he's coming. And best of all, he doesn't know the Avatar is still alive."

For a moment Zuko just looked at Kanto, his brow still furrowed as he digested all that had been said, then his eyes flicked up to Toph's.

"Toph?"

As surprised as she was to be feeling it, she nodded. "He's telling the truth." Kanto looked back over his shoulder at her, brows raised in surprise, having obviously not heard of Toph's ability to tell whether a person was lying or not.

"All I want to do now is help," Kanto said, pulling his gaze from her. "Any way that I can."

Zuko shared a glance with Mamoru, who had remained silent through the entire conversation. Despite Toph's assurances, she clearly had little trust for the man standing beside her.

"Even though you're telling the truth, you can understand that in the present circumstances we can't be letting you walk free around these halls. Regardless of your intentions you still kidnapped and hurt one of our own. For the time being you will be placed in one of our cells, until we have decided on the best way to deal with you."

Kanto opened his mouth to protest, but Mamoru had already grabbed his arm, pulling him roughly to the side. Toph felt the General drag Kanto past the long table in the center of the the firelit room, and when the door was shut behind them, she turned back to Zuko.

"You really thinking sending him off the the dungeons is the best way to deal with this?" She asked. "He was telling the truth."

"I know," Zuko sighed, raising his hands and extinguishing the fires that lit across the balcony with some relief. "But right now we have enough to be dealing with without having someone watch him every moment of every day, and there has to be some justice for what he did to Katara. She's one of us."

"If what he said about Hanh going back to the Northern Water Tribe first is right, we could be facing a far greater force than we first thought," Hakoda said quietly, still staring solemnly at the closed door that Kanto had passed through. "And if Arnook believes Hanh when he says that you had Innua executed ..."

"Noted," Zuko said, rubbing his face and looking exhausted. "By some miracle I sure hope Aang stops this storm in the next couple days."

"Don't we all?" Toph muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry folks, this is going to be another tough couple of chapters for Aang and Katara. I wrote a little Kataang one-shot to make up for it, but still, I hate having to be so mean to them!**

In a beautiful courtyard, by the entrance of a great city, in the middle of a large desert, there was complete silence. It seemed even the wind had stopped howling, and the birds had stopped chirping, and all that remained was an tension in the air, so thick that if someone were to swing a sword they would slice straight through it. Yet, on this beautiful courtyard in that great city, in a world inhabited only by spirits stood three humans, eyes locked and doubtful, surprise etched across the faces of two, and irritation on the face of the other. One of the surprised party stood slightly forward, in front of the woman beside him as if to protect her from the third, torn between excitement and doubt.

"Avatar Sansetsu," Aang gasped. The third man, with a blue arrow tattooed across his forehead, dropped elegantly from his perch on top of the archway, his orange robes fluttering slightly in the breeze.

"Oh good," Avatar Sansetsu said as he landed. "I was starting to worry that you were a bit slow."

"Uh ..."

"Ah crap." Sansetsu sighed, crossing his large arms across his chest. He wore a sleeveless tunic that crossed low down his muscled torso, a long sash hanging from his waist down to his calves, with a long blue arrow printed down it. His hairless chin raised high as he looked Aang up and down, his nose crinkling slightly.

"What's with the water tribe get up?" He asked, ignoring Katara's gaping mouth as she looked between the two Avatar's. Aang blinked in surprise, looking down at his blue tunic and grey trousers.

"Uh ..."

"Never mind. I mean, at least you've kept up the airbender tradition of shaving your head. Oh! Wait, would you look at that!" He pointed to Aang's head, who quickly reached up his hands to touch his ever thickening head of hair. Irritably Aang exchanged a glance with Katara, who looked back at him puzzled.

"You're Avatar Sansetsu?" Aang demanded, still rubbing his head. Sansetsu flashed them a wide grin, that had an uncanny resemblance to Aang's own trademark grin, before putting his fists on his hips.

"What gave it away?" He asked.

"You're Avatar Sansetsu ..." Aang repeated, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"You're the Avatar that was sent to help Aang find Tonrar?" Katara cut in, her own apprehension made abundantly clear.

"It certainly looks that way," Sansetsu replied, an appreciative smirk playing across his face as he eyed her.

"Why didn't Roku come?" Aang demanded, frowning at the way his predecessor looked at Katara, his stomach churning somewhat.

"That old man?" Sansetsu scoffed. "Please, he has no idea what he's doing."

"And you do?" Aang asked through gritted teeth. Sansetsu paused, before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms again.

"Yes. Believe it or not, Roku isn't the only Avatar that's been keeping an eye on you, there's a whole bunch of us horrified at how you've been dealing with the entire Tonrar situation."

Aang's heart dropped.

"Roku's had his chance, and now it's mine. I was sent to meet you in the spirit world, to show you how you can use the Avatar spirit to find Tonrar and take him down. Granted I was just meant to be meeting you," Sansetsu added, before grinning at Katara. "But I suppose there's nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy."

Katara bristled, giving Sansetsu a look that would have made Aang pale were he at the receiving end of it. In response Avatar Sansetsu raised his palms.

"Alright, alright." He rolled his shoulders, before looking up at the darkening sky above them, closing his eyes and shaking his head as if in response to some predictable interruption. "For reasons that were, and remain, completely not relevant to you, I am the one who was chosen to guide you through this journey, and equip yourself with the skills needed to take down Tonrar."

_The spirits are punishing me_, Aang thought to himself.

"Right now you have two choices. You can either accept me as your teacher and your guide, or you all die a horrific death. Chose wisely!"

"That's not really a choice," Aang replied.

"Lesson number one," Sansetsu responded. "There is always a choice. Just because the options seem poor doesn't mean there isn't a choice."

Aang glanced sideways at Katara, who looked back at him, before shrugging her shoulders in defeat.

"Ok. Avatar Sansetsu I accept you as my guide."

"Good." Sansetsu cast another glance up at the sky, eying it for a moment before continuing. "There are a great many things that you need to learn about the spirit world, and about this city in particular. Most of it I will have to tell you another time, but for now there's this." He looked back at them, his voice for once somber rather than dripping with sarcasm. "For the most part this city is a haven in the spirit world, a place where your lady friend in particular can stay without feeling the affects of the spirit world too badly. But just as with everything and just about every one in the spirit world it has its cons."

"What cons?" Katara asked, looking up at the sky too.

"When the sky goes dark, you go inside," Sansetsu replied. "No ifs, no buts, you find the nearest building and you close the doors and the windows and you stay there until you hear the birds start to sing."

"Why?" Aang asked.

"You want me to be honest?" Sansetsu said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeh, I mean that'd be great," Aang said dryly.

"Because anyone in the spirit world outside in this city at dark, anyone who even looks out of the window, who doesn't have a spirit of their own, will be trapped in a mortal state between life and death until the end of time," Sansetsu answered with a shrug. "I mean, it's only a little thing, really."

Aang looked over at Katara, his heart pounding.

"Quickly now. I'll call for you when it's safe. Until then, Avatar Aang and lady friend, sleep tight." Aang and Katara watched as Avatar Sansetsu simply vanished before their very eyes, before both looking nervously up at the sky, which was starting to look like a pulsing, purple weight above them.

"Come on," Aang muttered, reaching out and grabbing her hand. He looked around, before spotting of the buildings closest to them, equipped with a strong looking door and wooden blinds. The pair hurried over, Aang pushing the door open, allowing Katara to enter first, before closing the door.

Inside they found themselves looking at what appeared to be a half put together home, abandoned long before the occupiers had had a chance to fill it. A single stone furnace stood in one corner of the l-shaped room, with a stone work surface paved across next to it. On the other side of the room wooden ladders seemed to lead to the floor above, with the sturdy beamed ceiling making a stark contrast to the marble walls. Near the ladder were a neatly folded selection of old furs, though the hide was nothing that either of them recognised; a deep red with black stripes throughout. Tentatively the pair moved forward, investigating the small living room, and Aang double checking that the wooden blinds were closed tight. He heard a soft creek and looked back to see Katara, having dropped her pack to the floor, climbing up onto the ladder.

"Katara!" He said quickly, hurrying forward. "Let me go first."

Raising an eyebrow Katara stepped back. "Alright ..."

Quickly Aang scaled the ladder, peaking into the room above. The blinds were shut tight here too, and the room empty bar a small bed in the corner, pillows and blankets lying across the slightly padded mat upon the floor. He pulled himself up in the room, before waving his arm down and indicating that Katara could follow. Around the corner of this room, also l-shaped, there was a door, and a quick peak from Aang confirmed that it was just a bathroom and there wasn't anything that they should be worried about inside.

"Making sure there aren't any scary bog monsters?" Katara asked, smirking. Aang, completely serious, shook his head.

"Katara you can never be too careful. This is the spirit world ... bog monsters are entirely possible." Katara rolled her eyes, looking across at the blinds. It was now getting much darker, and as such much harder to see anything in the darkness.

"Let's bring the bed down," Aang suggested. "That way we can make use of the furnace." Katara nodded, and together they grabbed the blankets and mat, dropping them down to the floor below.

Before long Aang had set a fire in the furnace, and the pair sat on the bed eating the little that remained of their food. Despite the warmth of the furnace it was growing colder the darker it got outside, and Katara had lay the furs beneath them to help keep them warm. Gratefully the pair sat against one another, trying to stay warm.

"So," Katara said at length, taking a bite of her biscuit.

"So," Aang repeated, looking across at her.

"Your past life ... he's uh, he's a character, right?"

Ordinarily the pair would have found this amusing, but in the present state of urgency they found themselves in it was no laughing matter.

"I don't like him," Aang replied immediately.

"But he's one of your past lives," Katara said carefully.

"I refuse to accept that I was ever so much of a tool in my past life." Aang grumbled. "And the way he keeps looking at you ... how am I supposed to learn anything from someone like that?"

"Oh Aang, I've put up with much worse in the past," Katara said dismissively.

"What? When? From who?"

"But the fact is," Katara continued, "the other Avatar's decided to send Avatar Sansetsu for a reason. You think Roku would have let him go instead if he didn't think that Sansetsu could help you?"

Aang sighed, finishing off the last of his biscuit before leaning back against the wall. "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," Katara said sweetly.

"I still don't like him," Aang muttered. Katara laughed.

"Yeh, me neither. But you've always been a quick learner so let's hope whatever he has to teach you'll pick up quick enough and we won't have to deal with him for very long."

"I hope so."

Katara sat herself up, reaching over to grab her hip flask that she had taken off not long previous. "Do you want me to take a look at your leg?"

Dismissively Aang reached a hand down to his hip. In truth, it was giving him a lot of trouble, and having been forced to jump and avoid that sand worm at the gates of the city had seemed to have undone all of the efforts Katara had put into her healing several hours previous. He had kept ahead of the angry sand spirit, but only just. His agility and his speed, perhaps his two biggest assets when it came to air bending, had been affected much more than he originally thought.

"Yes please," he said at length, untying his sash.

Katara had a sharp intake of breath when she saw his leg that, even in the low glow from the furnace, looked much more bruised than it had the day before.

"Aang this isn't good ..." she muttered, bending water from the flask. "You need to rest, your leg isn't getting a chance to heal."

"I don't exactly have any time for that," Aang replied grimly, shutting his eyes as the first wave of pain washed over him before sighing as the cooling glow of the water eased it. "I have to end this before the year is out, and the summer solstice has already been and gone."

"I understand that, Aang, but if you don't give your leg a chance to heal you are going to be useless against Tonrar." Aang shot her a reproachful look. "Don't look at me like that, it's true. You couldn't stand against him when you were in full health, how do you think it's going to go down when you face him like this?"

"I'll figure out a way, Katara," he promised. "You all thought I'd have to kill Ozai, remember?" He reached forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Stop worrying."

Katara sighed, bottling the water once more and dropping her flask on top of her pack once more. "But I can't help it," she said dejectedly, flopping back beside him. "I worry about you. I watched Tonrar almost kill you once ..." she looked down at her lap, eyes sparkling with tears. "I can't go through that again."

Aang felt his heart drop, and he quickly reached forward, running his palm against her cheek and turning her face to look at him.

"You won't have to," he said firmly, his voice soft as he looked into her dancing blue eyes. "I'll see Sansetsu when the darkness outside passes, I'll start training, and I will work this out." He smiled at her. "Avatar's promise."

She looked into his eyes a moment longer, searching his expression for doubt until she found no sign of it, and nodded, raising her own hand and placing it over Aang's.

"Come on," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "We're both exhausted, let's get some sleep."

She nodded and the pair settled down on the furs, Aang throwing the blankets over them. Katara snuggled up to his side, whilst Aang lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the dull ache in his right hip. _I'll find a way. I have to. I'll find a way._

_Flashes of bright white lightning broke up the otherwise deathly, cool darkness of the sky above, a pulsing miasma of deep purples and red. The thunder cracked and the wind howled, and here Aang stood, his bare feet on the cold hard stone beneath him, the tattered remains of his clothes getting caught up in the swirling red mist, leaving his body peppered with a stinking red liquid. His chest heaved, mouth wide as he panted heavily, his arms hanging limp at his side._

_"I keep telling you this is how things are going to end!" A voice cried out. "No matter what you do, no matter how you try to fight me, this is how everyone will die. Everyone you know, everyone you love, their lives end here!"_

_Aang stared out at the terrifying landscape before him, before he raised his shaking palms out in front of his face, looking in horror at the blood that trailed down his forearm._

_"Do you even know whose blood that is?" Came the voice again, cold and threatening. Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of laughter and Aang threw his head up, eyes wide as he searched for the voice, searched for the demon that promised to slaughter him._

_"If I don't kill her," it whispered. "You will."_

With a gasp Aang opened his eyes, chest heaving as the blood soaked vision swam in front of his eyes for a moment longer. He panted, trying to catch his breath, closing his eyes and pressing his palms against his eyes, waiting for his heart to slow and the shaking to stop. After about a minute he opened his eyes, blinking back the the blobs of light and colour that still danced across his vision. Not for the first time he found himself missing the old familiar nightmare, the ones where it was just him and Koh, the ones that didn't involve Katara._ Katara_. He looked sharply to his right, and saw that at some point during the night she had curled up, he face part buried in her pillow with her hair draped across the rest. He rolled onto his side so that he could lie and look at her and the way her soft hair fluttered with each breath.

He lay there watching for her some time before he became aware of the light filtering through the slivers of space between the wood of the blinds and, as Sansetsu had promised, the bird song fluttering through the air. He was loathe to wake her, not when she looked so peaceful, but he needed to start his training and he couldn't leave her here all alone. He leaned up onto his right arm, before pushing her hair back from her face.

"Katara." She stirred. "Sweetie time to wake up." Breathing deeply Katara opened her eyes, blinking slowly at him.

"The sun's up," he said. "We should get going." She nodded, yawning widely before sitting herself up and stretching. _At least one of us slept well_, he mused affectionately.

After each of them had washed up, both very thankful to find at least some running water in the bathroom, the pair made their way down to the courtyard where they had first seen Avatar Sansetsu. Aang had cautiously opened the door at first, not forgetting the warning that Sansetsu had given them the night before, but aside from the birds flitting across the branches of the fruit trees surrounding the courtyard it was silent, and they stepped out into the sun.

No sooner had they stepped onto the marble stone paving of the courtyard they heard Sansetsu's droll voice from behind them.

"Right, let's get to it."

The past Avatar dropped to the ground behind them, rolling up invisible sleeves before pushing his wast past them to the center of the courtyard.

"Good morning to you too," Katara muttered, and Aang nudged her with a slight smirk.

"Let's get to what, exactly?" Aang asked, following him over. "What are we doing?"

Sansetsu sat crossed legged of the floor, just in front of the fountain, and then gestured that Aang do the same. Katara made to join then but Sansetsu raised a hand.

"Uh uh, not you."

"Oh so I can't sit down now?" Katara demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Are you an Avatar?" Sansetsu asked curtly. Katara sighed.

"No."

"Well, see this is the _Avatar_ circle," Sansetsu replied, raising his arms to demonstrate. "Avatar's only. Go sit over there." Glaring Katara turned on her heel and walked several paces back. "Bit further," the past Avatar said, waving the back of his hand to her. Katara practically stomped back to the edge of the courtyard, before turning back and yelling.

"Is this far enough?"

"Peachey!" Sansetsu turned back to face Aang, eyebrows raised. "Sheesh I don't envy you one bit."

"I can still hear you!"

"She'd kick your butt," Aang said, matter of factly, resting his arms on his knees.

"Well, that remains to be seen!" Sansetsu replied, clapping his hands together. "Right, well as you already know I am here to show you how you can find Tonrar and, as you have no doubt guessed by now, part of my job is to show you how you can also beat him." He grinned a wide grin at Aang, a sight somewhat unsettling. "So, to start, how many times did Tonrar kick your ass?" Aang blinked.

"Uh ..."

"Ball park figure. Six, seven times?"

"Three," Aang corrected reproachfully. "I've faced him four times and I only got the best of him once."

"Oh, good."

"Really?"

"No that's terrible!" Sansetsu scolded. "We all get at least one big bad in each of our cycles to deal with, but the idea is you deal with them, not let them keep coming back at you."

"What was yours?" Aang asked, curious.

"None of your business," Sansetsu snapped. "And irrelevant. Much more relevant to you know is how you're going to take care of Tonrar, and how this time he is going to stay down."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Aang asked, irritated. "I've tried taking his ability to control other spirits, I tried to contain him back at the South Pole, how exactly am I supposed to stop him?"

Sansetsu frowned, cocking his head. "You're kidding, right? You kill him." Aang's eyes widened.

"I'm not going to do that."

"Oh sheesh, you really need me to give you the choice between killing Tonrar and letting everyone else die?"

"But you're an airbender!" Aang cried. "You should know that all life is sac-"

"No, chump, I'm an Avatar," Sansetsu interupted. "And so are you, which means_ you_ don't matter, _you_ don't get to let the world end just because _you_ don't want to get your hands dirty."

"It's not about not wanting to get my hands dirty!" Aang protested. "It's about me not having the right to take away Tonrar's life!" Sansetsu glared at him, his lip curled in disgust.

"You know what, kid? It's no wonder that you haven't been able to beat Tonrar yet. Some day soon you are going to get a very hard lesson in reality, because all those nightmares you keep having are going to come true, and you are going to be standing on some dying rock with her blood-" he pointed violently towards Katara, "-and the blood of everyone else on your hands."

Aang felt his heart pounding, his hands curling into fists as Sansetsu's words washed over him, memories of the nightmare from last night flashing in his vision. Sansetsu sighed and shook his head.

"You may choose not to accept it now, but there will come a time when you realise that you're going to have to end Tonrar's life, one way or another."

"I'll find another way," Aang muttered, keeping his cool grey eyes fixed onto Sansetsu's own.

"What the shit did I sign myself up for?" Sansetsu growled, more to himself than to Aang. He took a deep breath, steadying himself once more. "Well, whilst you get your head around accepting how you are going to end this, let's get on with the training."

"What do I need to do?" Aang asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Sansetsu entwined the fingers of both his hands, dropping them onto his lap. "I'm sure you want to just get started on the good stuff, but I've got to reach my wise Avatar quota for the day so I'm going to explain a few things to you first." Aang nodded. "So first, a brief history of the spirit that you are going to be facing." Aang insinctually exchanged a look with Katara, sat several meters away from them, who rolled her eyes. Sansetsu looked between the pair, eyes narrowed, though chose no to comment. "Tonrar is an ancient spirit, not as ancient as Koh, oh no, but old enough to know a great deal about the spirit world and to have some degree of control over it. Tonrar was born into this world with just one purpose ... to trap the souls of those humans who unwisely chose to take a trip into the spirit world after our two worlds were separated. But the more humans he trapped, the more power he gained, and soon he was able to control, not only the souls of humans, but the spirits that shared their body."

"I know all this," Aang interupted. "The reason Tonrar can control me is because of the Avatar spirit." Sansetsu grimaced.

"There's more to it than that, smart ass. Whilst Tonrar was able to control the spirits seeking refuge in the body of humans, there was a pretty big step between controlling them and being able to control the Avatar spirit ... The Avatar spirit is ancient, and as you've no doubt experienced she is powerful. There are very few Avatar's, if any, that have been able to unlock the full power of the Avatar spirit and the Avatar State. It's more than just connecting to all of our past lives, it's about sharing the knowledge and strength and spirituality of the spirit that lives within us." At this, Sansetsu flashed Aang an angry look. "Tonrar shouldn't be capable of possessing the Avatar Spirit. She should be well out of his league. But," he paused, leaning forward and piercing Aang with a hard glare, "he could whilst the Avatar spirit resided in you."

Aang's ears began to ring as the words hit him with a force he wasn't prepared for, and his breathing began to quicken.

"Somehow Tonrar realised that with you as the Avatar he had his chance ... somehow he knew that you weren't worthy of being the Avatar, that through you the power of the Avatar spirit was weakened and she was vulnerable."

"Stop it," Katara demanded, but Sansetsu ignored her, sneering at Aang.

"And if that wasn't enough, being able to possess the Avatar spirit only made Tonrar more and more powerful." The blood began to rush to Aang's head. "With the help of his half-bred daughter, he was able to possess perhaps one of the oldest, most untouchable spirits that has ever lived."

"That's enough!" Katara yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Koh."

Aang shut his eyes tight, the panic inducing a wave of sickness that washed over him.

"Tonrar was able to do all of this because the connection you had with the Avatar spirit wasn't strong enough to fight him off!" Sansetsu continued, his voice raised now. "All because you failed to reach full spiritual enlightenment. And why? Because of her." Sansetsu pointed towards Katara once more, who stood with eyes wide, looking quickly between the two Avatar's, confusion etched across her beautiful features. Aang looked across at her, his face a picture of anguish.

"But, see this is where you are in luck." Aang's eyes locked back onto Sansetsu, who was looking calmly at Aang, though whether he was putting aside his rage or readying for an attack Aang couldn't tell.

"How?" Aang asked, his voice low and weak.

"Because I can show you how to gain control of the Avatar spirit yet again," Sansetsu replied. "Because I know what it's like when the Avatar has more power than you do, and I can show you how to put that little bitch back in her place and take that power back for yourself." Aang frowned, his expression desperate and confused as Sansetsu flashed him another unsettling grin, and Aang realised with absolute certainty,_ Sansetsu is insane_. He glanced over at Katara once more, and saw the same fear reflected in her eyes.

"Your second lesson is simple," Sansetsu continued, oblivious to Aang and Katara's realisations. "You need to stop hiding from the Avatar State, stop hiding from your greatest source of power, and learn to stop fearing it beyond any sense of reason. Respect it, respect its power, but understand that it was given to you for you to control."

Still reeling from the way Sansetsu had attacked him, Aang struggled to find a single coherent reply to his words and he just shook his head slowly.

"Before I can teach you anything further, I need to know how much control you still have over the Avatar State." He got to his feet and indicated that Aang do the same. Cautiously Aang followed suit. "So I need you to go into the Avatar State."

Aang nearly fell back to the ground again at these words. Memories flashed in his head ... watching as if in third person as his body started to take control when he and Katara had made love in the desert, sensing the Avatar spirit growing stronger, and realising too late that he had no control over himself anymore, his body starting to glow as the Avatar State took Katara.

"I can't," Aang said, shaking his head. "I can't go into the Avatar State." Sansetsu scowled yet again.

"You can, and you will," he said, his voice low and threatening.

"Sansetsu drop it, he says he can't do it," came Katara's order, as she began to walk forward. Sansetsu scoffed.

"So you let your woman fight all your battles for you?" He laughed. "What you can't do anything without mummy's say-so?"

Aang felt anger stirring in his stomach. "Sansetsu-"

"No no, I get it," the Avatar continued with a shrug. "I mean, if were getting a piece of that I probably wouldn't argue with her either."

"Don't talk about Katara that way," Aang growled.

"Aang he's just trying to bait you!"

"But then you wouldn't be the first Avatar to get himself a tight little whore to try and finally feel some sort of connection with this world we're meant to be a part of."

Aang's blood began to boil as he drew himself up to his full height, taking a step towards Sansetsu. "I said don't talk about her that way!"

"Aang!"

"Although, really, you've got to ask yourself just one question," Sansetsu returned, walking forward so that his face almost pressed against Aang's, grey eyes flashing. "Who did she enjoy fucking more? You, or the Avatar State?"

At that, the world fell away, the little control Aang still had, that he still clung to, gave way and all he felt was rage. The sky began to turn red, a deep rumbling was felt in the earth, and the air began to rush around them, picking up their robes and hair. Aang's eyes and tattoo's started to glow, his face morphing from that of the kind and gentle monk he was a twisted picture of pure agony and rage. Slowly he rose from the ground, a whirlwind twisting around his legs, whipping the legs of his trousers and throwing clouds of dust up from the ground. Katara, holding her arm before her face, watched in horror as Aang raised his arms, and it sounded as if the very air around them began to cry.

"AANG!" She screamed, running forward, but he could no longer hear her. With his raised arms he felt into the essence of the world around them, his gaze still focused on the calm expression on the Avatar that still stood before him. Then, a red mist began to fill the air as the trees closest to him began to disintegrate, their life force rushing towards him and joining in on the hurricane or elements that were starting to surround him. Katara cried out as she saw a bush to her left swiftly break down and then saw, with utter horror, as the tips of her hair, battered in the wind, began to disintegrate as well. But then, Sansetsu moved forward, reaching out the palm of his hand and pressing it against Aang's chest. At once Aang felt his burning fury subside, his hands dropping to his side, his own soul force its way back over the theshold of control. The glowing stopped, the sky turned blue, and the howling winds died down, and Aang landed on the ground, his right leg wobbling and giving way beneath him so he fell to the ground. He knew what had happened, he had felt all of it, every minute, every second, the power and the rage and the realisation that he had no control over any of it. And then the mist ... that horrible red mist. He sat on the ground, propped up by his right arm, panting heavily and shaking uncontrollably. He felt rough hands grab his jaw, turning his head sharply and painfully upwards so that he was looking, once more, into Sansetsu's eyes.

"Now do you understand?" The past Avatar asked, his voice tipped in an emotion that Aang couldn't quite read, between anger and heartbreak. Sansetsu pulled him down, and Aang fell forward onto his knees, palms down on the ground. He heard Katara calling him, sobbing, whilst his gaze slowly turned upwards to the disintegrated trees to his right, where lay, head and shoulders missing, the dead body of a bird.

**A/N: I may have put off posting this chapter for a couple of days because I'm sooooo nervous about how it's going to be received ... so, for the first time, I am actually asking for reviews. Ahuh it's that serious.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Aang! AANG!"

The courtyard she stood in bore witness to the atrocities that the Avatar was capable of, to the raw power and ability to destroy held deep within him. Katara had watched as Aang fell to the ground, had watched as Avatar Sansetsu grabbed his face before stepping back and turning on his heel. And now, even as she hurried towards him she saw the horrifying realisation of what he had truly done spread across her beloveds face. She skidded to his side, but Aang had already started to stand, his expression that of agony as he looked across at her and she realised, with a stabbing pain to the heart, that he was going to run.

"Aang, Aang no wait-"

Aang didn't even let her hands make contact with his arm before he jumped, leaping onto the nearest archway and using that to propel himself forward.

"Aang wait!"

She ran after him, trying to keep him in her sight as he leaped from building to building, but try as she might there was no way she could keep up with an airbender that didn't want to be caught, and as he disappeared from sight she stopped, panting heavily and pressing her palm against a wall to steady herself.

"Dammit, Aang," she said, with a dry sob. Bitterly she looked up to the skyline of the buildings to her left, before remembering with complete and utter clarity the night she had found him in a bathtub, numb and shaking, convinced of the blood on his hands. For the first time, she understood. Understood what she had no idea she had been missing ... it wasn't just Aang's fear of failing that had driven him away from her, from his friends. No, it was the fear that he would be the cause of it all, fear of what Tonrar had truly done to him, the damage that Tonrar had caused, and the fundamental truth that, Aang or no, he was still capable of killing. And now, with Sansetsu's help, Aang had seen that truth come to fruition ... had realised that it was no longer that he was just capable, but that it was probable. Her heart broke for him, and though no tears reached her eyes, she felt as though her throat was closing, the obnoxiously white stone of the buildings and walls closing in around her. Aang. Her poor poor Aang ... Her breathing quickened as she began to panic, her back sliding down the wall as she her hands shook, her whimpers turning into howls as she finally let her own walls break down, letting the pain and the fear she had been hiding for so long overcome her.

"Aang," she gasped, shaking her head. "AANG!" She screamed, pounding her fists on the stone floor, before she slumped back against the wall, panting as the tears finally came.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, half hoping that Aang would come back, and half hoping that he was far away. How could she help him when he felt this much pain? How could she help him when she knew how terrified he was to be around her? How could she help him when Sansetsu had shown him to be some sort of monster? _Sansetsu_. At that thought, her body stiffened, her mind sharpening. Sansetsu ... the Avatar sent to help Aang had only driven him away, broken him. Once more her breathing began to quicken, although this time her blood boiled and her hands curled into fists. Ignoring the way her hair stuck to her tear-soaked skin she stood, eyes blazing, storming her way back to the courtyard.

"Sansetsu?" Her voice low and threatening, the water in the fountain turning to ice, Katara stepped onto the courtyard, still covered in fine specks of red dust, with much of the greenery around it destroyed and damaged.

"Ahh, is this the point where you come and tell me what a horrible person I am?" Came Sansetsu's voice, leaning languidly against his favoured arch. Katara wasted no time with rounding on him, stalking forwards until they were almost face to face, her lips curled into a snarl.

"What is wrong with you?" She spat. "Why did you do that to Aang?"

Sansetsu frowned, his dark grey eyes locking with hers. "I believe I gave him some cold, hard facts."

"You were supposed to help him!" Katara cried. "You were supposed to guide him! You think he doesn't know what he is capable of? You think he hasn't seen it night after night after night?! Why did you have to go and make it a reality?"

"There is a difference between knowing what you are capable of, and really truly_ knowing_ what you are capable of," Sansetsu said, his voice low and level. "That is a lesson that, one day, every Avatar must learn, and one that Aang was long overdue."

"You don't get it do you?" Katara stood back, eyes shimmering as she shook her head. "This will destroy him. Aang isn't like you, he's not like any of the other Avatar's. He doesn't want all that power, and he damn well doesn't want to use it!" Sansetsu's eyes flashed.

"Do not assume that every other Avatar wanted this, either." He looked up at the sky, already starting to darken. "It looks like today is going to be a short one. You should get inside, little girl."

Katara all but growled at him, wanting nothing more than to hit that smug face with one of her water whips. "I swear to Yue," she hissed, taking a step closer, "if he can't come back from this, Avatar or no I am going to make you regret ever going near him."

Sansetsu merely blinked, before vanishing before her eyes, leaving her glaring at the marble archway, still misted in dead tree and branch.

"Coward," she hissed. Bitterly she looked up at the sky, seeing it starting to pulse, before casting another desperate search of the skyline, hoping to see Aang. Sansetsu has said that it was only those without spirit who couldn't be out after dark, but regardless she wondered if at this point he had enough. Sighing she turned and made her way back to the house that she and Aang had commandeered the last time the sky turned dark, shutting the door firmly behind her and collapsing onto the bed.

~

"AANG!" He heard her scream, agonising and distraught, and if possible his heart shattered into even smaller pieces. The moment he had seen her, seen that look on her face, he knew he had to get away. To just run, run and run and run until he could breathe again, until he could stop imagining the horror show that had taken place back in the courtyard. But at the sound of her cries he had stopped, panting and looking back behind him. She needed him, and spirits knows he needed her too right now. But not yet, not just yet.

He dropped to his knees where he had stopped, on top of the green tiled roof of what appeared to be a larger town house. Beautiful flowers still grew in the front garden, ivy and morning glory creeping up the walls and spilling out onto the pavement, so calming in contrast to the ragged breaths he was taking as he sat there. He'd known, part of him perhaps had always known, why his dreams always started with him so exhausted, with him hurting so bad, with the mist swirling around him, the blood dripping down his arms. It was ridiculous to assume that he hadn't considered what this part of the dream meant, but bitterly he had pushed it aside, unable to accept that he could actually be part of the destruction of both worlds. His hands began to shake as be remembered the incredible amount of power that had spread through his body, feeling every single atom of every single being around him. He could feel the trees scream as, with clawed hands, he had wrenched them apart, could sense the range of his destruction stretching out across the courtyard until he felt Katara. He could feel everything about her ... the beating of her heart, the air in her lungs, the blood pumping through her veins. He had been able to feel her very soul, and he was going to pull it all apart piece by tiny piece. He shut his eyes tight, curling into a ball and gritting his teeth as the ghost of those feelings left him aching. How could he be capable of such destruction? If this is what the Avatar spirit was like when you lost control why had he been chosen? He was weak and he was powerless against her, and even now he felt her there. The Avatar spirit hunkered down waiting patiently for her next chance to strike.

He opened his eyes, looking numbly out at the city before him. Sansetsu had been right, he was too weak to be the Avatar, and he had no idea what he could do about it. His instincts told him to run, to leave Katara far behind him so he couldn't hurt her. And then what? If he faced Tonrar then it would surely all be over, but if he hid in the spirit world, if he never went back then the mortal world would be destroyed.

"I can't do it," he whimpered. "I can't do this, I can't, I can't ..."

The realisation hit him like a stone wall. He couldn't do this. Why hadn't the Avatar spirit chosen someone else?

Broken he lay there, his eyes not really seeing everything that lay in front of him, his body indifferent to the pain of the roof tiles digging into his sides, and it wasn't until the sky began to darken that he stirred, looking up with swollen red eyes. His thoughts turned, like a stab in the gut, to Katara. She couldn't be out here when it got dark, what if she didn't realise as she carried on looking for him? What if she got lost? He pulled himself to his feet, wobbling unsteadily on his bruised and battered leg, and gingerly made his way across the roofs back to the courtyard, his eyes peeled for her. By the time he landed poorly on a roof overlooking the courtyard it had begun to grow decidedly darker, and he couldn't hide the panic that came with knowing that Katara could still be out there. But then, he saw her, casting one last look towards the city, and he ducked down low enough to that his silhouette wouldn't show up against the vaguely glowing sky, watching as she shut herself away in the building they had held up in the last lights out, breathing a sigh of relief. At least, for now, she was safe. He rolled onto his back, looking up at the purple sky. He couldn't run ... he couldn't leave her here. But how was he supposed to spend another moment in her presence when he had done what he had, now that she knew exactly how dangerous he could be. The sky lost the last of its colour, the purple giving way to an entirely inky black. Instead of darkness, however, he became aware of a glow that seemed to emanate directly from the city ground itself. Frowning he rolled back onto his front.

After all the horrors that he had seen and felt that day, there was still no way he could be prepared for what he saw as he looked back towards the courtyard. If he had had the energy he may have cried out, scream Katara's name, but he simply gaped, a sick feeling in his stomach as he watched hundreds of people, eyes dead, bodies limp, and skin glowing wandering lifelessly around the courtyard.

The courtyard was heaving with hundred of glowing figures, their eyes dead and bodies limp as they wandered lifeless across its surface, the group rotating and swirling in a slow circle as they instinctively avoided walking into each other. Aang climbed further up the roof, horrified at the sight yet wanting to get a closer look, looking into the vacuous faces of the people there, trying to see some sign of life or passion in them, but even at the sound of his scrabbles they were indifferent, continuing their graceful rotation of the courtyard.

"What is this?" Aang whispered hoarsely.

"Honestly I'd kinda hoped you wouldn't see this so soon."

Aang jumped, looking sharply to his left to see Sansetsu, staring incuriously out towards the courtyard. His immediate reaction was, incredulously, to jump at his predecessor, to demand an explanation for the way he had tricked Aang into almost hurting Katara, but his curiosity about the blank people below them won out his anger.

"Who are these people?" Aang asked. With a heavy sigh Sansetsu sat down, crossing his legs and continuing his sad visual.

"If you think about it," he answered, "you probably already know who they are. Well, rather you already know why they're here."

"I don't understand ..."

"There are a number of reason why I had you come to this city," Sansetsu continued. "Believe it or not the spirit infested forest and the desert weren't a test or me messing around with you, it was simply the path you needed to cross to get to here. Naturally that it would be safe, for the most part, for that woman of yours made it a logical first choice, but there was more to it than that." Sansetsu glanced over at him, and Aang stared intently back. "The city was, once, home to a growing population of humans ... people who have crossed over from the mortal world and who decided that they would call this place their own and to build a city from the rich white stone that formed in this region."

"People lived here?" Aang asked, his voice hushed. "They actually lived in the spirit world?"

"Yeh, for a time," Sansetsu replied. "I suppose they lived pretty well given the size of this damn place." He cast a derisive look behind them, at the large tower in the center of the walled city. "But good things aren't really mean to last ... the spirits grew less and less tolerant of their presence, until not even the benders of this city couldn't keep them out, and a great war took place." For a moment, Sansetsu's face turned grim. "Really though, it was never a war. No, it was a slaughter. The spirit that led the attack was ruthless and determined, and the cut through the city, killing every man, woman, and child that lived here."

Breathless Aang looked back at those blank, glowing faces.

"But killing them wasn't enough for this spirit ... the unfortunate thing about dying in the spirit world is that your soul remains here. And there is one such spirit who is very good at dealing with human souls ..."

"Tonrar," Aang gasped, eyes wide. Sansetsu nodded, dismissively picked at his finger nails.

"He trapped the souls of hundreds in this city, and in turn this place became a honeypot ... Any human that came into the spirit world would inevitably find their way here. After all, it's a home, right? What soul can ignore the call of a safe home in an alien world? For thousands of years Tonrar has continued to trap the foolish man who thinks the spirit world is a place for him, who defiles the boundaries set by the spirits millennia ago. What you see here is only a fraction of the souls caught in Tonrar's web. The city is dotted with similar courtyards such as this ... and each time the sky goes dark you can see them."

"Can't we set them free?" Aang demanded at once, heart racing. "Surely as the Avatar I can do something!" Sansetsu uttered a dark laugh.

"Be my guest," he said with a shrug. "But you should know that I have spent the past six hundred years trying."

For the first time Aang saw Sansetsu in a different light, the sadness in the large man's eyes abundantly clear.

"Why?" Aang asked. "Why was this so important to you?" Surprised Sansetsu glanced back at him, before quickly regaining his composure and raising his chin.

"That, chump, is a tale for another time," he said shortly. "Or not at all, depending on how I feel."

Frowning Aang looked away, his eyes drawn yet again to the glowing faces.

"You know, your woman really wasn't happy with how I handled things earlier," Sansetsu piped up, that familiar complacent drawl coming back into his voice.

"She's not_ my woman_," Aang snapped, irritated. "And honestly I'm not really chuffed to bits about it either," he added darkly. Sansetsu looked over at his quickly, eyebrows raised.

"Wait ... so just fuck buddies then?"

Aang blushed furiously. "No!" He cried, horrified. "I mean ... her name's Katara, she's not ... she doesn't belong to me ... we're ..." he faltered, the rug having been pulled right out from under his feet. Sansetsu barked a laugh.

"So you actually care for her, then?"

"Of course I do," he replied, his voice firmer. Sansetsu nodded as if in appreciation.

"Huh, go figure. Either way, _Katara_ wasn't happy with how I handled things. You know ... she actually threatened me?" Sansetsu chuckled, and Aang swiftly felt his dislike of the past Avatar returning.

"That sounds like something she'd do," Aang responded dryly, eyes narrowed. Sansetsu remained silent for a while, his legs swinging over the edge of the roof, wide jaw tipped up as if in contemplation.

"You know why I tricked you into the Avatar State, right?"

"Truthfully? No," Aang spat. "Although if you wanted to prove that I'm too weak to be the Avatar, or that next time I go into the Avatar State I could destroy everything, or that I should have left Katara back in the mortal world, or that I have no chance of beating Tonrar then job well done!" He threw his hands in the air before crossing them angrily across his chest, glaring darkly at the glow below. Sansetsu scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wow that girl really wasn't joking, " he said coldly, his upper lip curled as he looked at Aang. "So, what, you get a good look at the reality of the situation and you just ran away like a child? I mean, fuck me with a glider do you have any back bone at all?" His turn to be disgusted, Aang threw him a cautious look. "Whether you chose to face Tonrar or not, in the state you're in right now, the world is gonna end. Either Tonrar forces you into the Avatar State and you do his job for him, or you leave Tonrar to skulk and hide away whilst your world slowly pulls itself apart." Sansetsu leaned in, his face close to Aang's. "Do you need for me to explain how your friends in the mortal world will die? How they will either freeze to death or the creeping darkness will catch up to them and the tendrils will work their way inside of them and t-"

"Ok stop!" Aang yelled, covering his ears. "I don't need to hear that! I know how it's going to end, ok?"

"Then why are you being such a pathetic coward?" Sansetsu demanded. "Why do you keep whining and crying and complaining about all of this instead of doing what needs to be done?"

"Because I'm scared!" Aang yelled, rounding on Sansetsu, his heart thumping in his chest as the desperation made itself clear across his face. "I'm scared of failing, I'm scared of losing Katara." He swallowed, a shadow passed across his face. "I'm scared of Tonrar, to face him again."

The large airbender regarded him in stony silence, his face expressionless and his jaw set. "Well that's something you're just going to have to accept and get over," he said bluntly. "Your fear is your biggest enemy, not Tonrar. Your fear is the reason you have no control, and until you learn to overcome it, to turn that fear into a driving force to defeat Tonrar, you are never going to." Suddenly Sansetsu reached out, grabbing Aang's chin again and forcing the young man to look at him. "Remember that feeling in your veins as you tore the world apart," he hissed. "And remember it well. Because if you don't then you will be the end of us all." Shaking Aang looked back at him, suddenly feeling too weak to pull away from Sansetsu's grasp.

"I don't want to remember it," he whimpered. "I don't want to feel that ever again."

"Then fucking fight." Sansetsu's eyes blazed. Roughly he pushed Aang away from him, and before Aang could pull himself up from the tiles the past Avatar had disappeared once more.

His heart was still racing, and in spite of himself his gaze was drawn to those poor lost, wandering souls, perhaps hoping for an end to their torment but never reaching it. Maybe that was why they walked. Aang sighed, angry tears sparkling in his eyes. Sansetsu was right. For these souls ... for Katara, for his friends ... for the rest of the world, he had to fight. No matter how much of himself he lost along the way he had to fight. Still shaking he climbed to his feet, his thoughts now completely on Katara, on holding her, on calling upon her strength to help him. With little grace, his right hip still causing him a lot of grief, Aang dropped down into the courtyard, watching in sad wonder as the souls moved aside to avoid touching him, and he waded his way through, trying hard not to look into any of those lifeless eyes until he reached the door. He took a deep breath, willing for his hands to stop shaking, and then opened the door, quickly sliding himself in so that there was no way that Katara could chance a glance outside.

"Aang?"

Her voice was tired, broken and sad, and he immediately felt the tears well up. "Katara ..." At the sound of his desperate plea she jumped up from the furs, her body illuminated lightly by the weak fire in the furnace, and before he was even aware of his movement he had stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her hair as he began to sob freely. She gripped him back, her hands knotting into his hair and pulling him as close to her as she could.

"It's ok," she whispered gently. Aang pulled his face away from her neck, taking her face in his hands, his desperate gaze on hers as a look blazed in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"I will fix this," he promised, his voice hoarse but strong. He leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips against hers, the fire between them burning as her tongue ran across his pleadingly, their bodies as close together as it was possible for them to be. She moaned as he pulled away. "I swear to the spirits, I will fix this."

"I know," she said back to him, her voice firm. "I know and I am going to help you."

Gratefully he fell back into her embrace, and slowly the pair made their way to the bed, Aang wrapping his arms protectively around his beloved as they fell into an exhausted sleep.

~

_If I don't kill her ... you will._

Aang woke with a gasp, his body sitting up and his head dropping down onto his chest as he groaned. There was an unusual feeling across his limbs, as if they still hummed and buzzed with the power that had coursed through his veins the day before, and shaking he raised his hand to his forehead. If he had hoped that his subconscious would let up now that his conscious mind knew of the warning his dream state had been giving him he would be sorely disappointed. The nightmare continued, somehow more fervent and aggressive than before. Taking a long uneven breath he lay back down, his head turning to face the beautiful waterbender that lay beside him. In true Katara fashion she lay on her back, one arm stretched up above her whilst the other rested on her stomach, he face tilted to the side, mouth wide and snoring lightly. Despite the shakiness in his body, his pure affection and love for her swelled in his chest, and he smiled. Even after showing her exactly what he was capable of, of the damage he could cause, here she lay, sleeping with pure abandon, not the least bit intimidated by the man who lay at her side. And if she, after all that he had revealed to her, could still trust him then perhaps he really could still trust himself, and have faith that he could get through this.

He leaned forward, intent on kissing her forehead and waking her, but he paused, taking in her carefree and easy expression. It couldn't hurt to let her have a lie in. Quietly he climbed to his feet, pulling on the sleeveless blue tunic, casting a final glance back at her sleeping form before slipping out the door.

Seeing all the destruction he had caused in the fresh new light of day hit him like a rock to the stomach, and he reeled at the red mist that still stained the white marble walls and broken stumps that remained of the trees he'd broken down. The wandering, trapped souls visible under the purple sky were no longer there for him to see, but a shiver ran down his spine as he found himself wondering whether they were still there, still lost, but that he just couldn't see them under the sun. Taking a deep breath he walked forward, his bare feet making contact with the first stone of the circular courtyard, looking around for any sign of the past Avatar. As his eyes scoped the scene, they fell upon a small, brightly coloured mass of feathers, and his heart sunk. Being raised a vegetarian he had never even eaten an animal, let along killed one, and the guilt and sorrow he felt came with a wave of sickness that left him feeling light headed. Swallowing he walked forward, his sad eyes looking down at the poor body of the bird that had been caught in the Avatar's destruction. Quietly he scanned a soil bed upon which flowers still grew, life that had been fortunate enough to be placed outside of the perimeter of his reach and, reaching down carefully, he carried what remained of the bird over. He dropped to his knees, placing the bird down beside him, and with his hands began to dig a small hole in the soil.

"What are you doing?"

Aang jumped, looking over his back to see Sansetsu, lounging on the edge of the stone fountain, frowning at him.

"I'm burying it," Aang responded, before turning back to his work.

"No, I mean why aren't you bending the soil?"

Aang chose not to answer, instead picking up the bird and placing it in its grave, before gently filling the hole once more. He closed his eyes, and uttered quietly to himself, one hand still pressed lightly upon the mound of soil. Then, he stood, looking back at Sansetsu.

"Some things you have to do with your hands," he said quietly, before gently brushing the soil from his palms. The past Avatar eyed him curiously for a moment, before shrugging. Aang stood in uncomfortable silence, before finally willing himself to speak.

"I thought about what you said," he began. "Last night, about avoiding the reality of all this, about needing to fight." Sansetsu raised his brow in interest, and Aang took a deep nasal breath. "I've decided that I'm going to fight," he said firmly.

"Good," Sansetsu said with a nod. Emboldened, Aang continued.

"But I have one condition." Sansetsu let out a derisive snort. "If you are going to have me go back into the Avatar State, then Katara can't be anywhere near me when it happens. She needs to stay safe."

"Done," Sansetsu agreed, the small smirk not leaving his face. "Anything else?" Aang hesitated.

"No, that's everything."

The past Avatar clapped his hands together, standing from his position on the fountain. "I think that's the smartest thing I've heard you say yet."

Not willing to reveal to Sansetsu that, although he was ready to learn to fight against the power the Avatar spirit had over him, the idea that he should have to learn from this particular Avatar left him with a sour taste in his mouth, Aang remained silent. He watched as Sansetsu stepped closer to him, hands crossed across his wide chest.

"So, how do we start?" Aang asked. Sansetsu looked him up and down, his harrying gaze lingering on Aang's bare arms turning his focus back to his face.

"Do you remember your airbender training?" Aang nodded. "At the very beginning we are taught the importance of having a strong, solid core, both in a mental and physical sense. Mentally, you are all over the place, and physically you are in less than ideal a condition." Aang glowered. "Until you work on regaining your strong core, your bending will be sloppy, unreliable, and weak, and whilst you haven't proper control over your bending there is no way you will be ready to attempt going into the Avatar State again."

"So you want me to start from scratch?" Aang asked incredulously.

"Yes," Sansetsu replied shortly. "When was the last time you practiced your bending?" Aang hesitated.

"Well, I haven't practiced for practice sake for a long time," he answered honestly, rubbing the back of his head. "But, I mean, I've used it."

"Congratulations," Sansetsu deadpanned, his wide jaw clenched irritably. "Then yes, definitely, I want you to start from scratch." Aang held back a sigh. "As I'm sure you remember from your airbender training, a good mental core is far more valuable a base than a strong physical one. No matter how powerful you are, if you don't have the mental discipline or aptitude then that power is simply wasted."

"Yeh, I remember," Aang replied.

"Your first task is a simple one," Sansetsu continued lightly. "I want you to meditate, each time the sun comes back after the sky turns dark."

"Ok ..."

"Sun and darkness is unpredictable here. There was once a time where, consistently, there'd be twelve hours of sun followed by twelve hours of darkness, but since the worlds began to shift and distort, time here isn't really the same as it was. Sometimes you'll get twenty-four hours of sun, other times you'll only get twenty-four minutes. But regardless of how little or long a time you have to wait, I want you to meditate each and every time the sun comes back."

"For how long?" Aang asked.

"For as long as it takes you," the large airbender replied, his voice once again tipped in irritation. "Until you can consistently go into a meditative state at will I'm not helping you any further."

"Aaand what if I can't? What if it takes me too long?"

"Then the world ends, chump." Sansetsu looked up at the sky, the sun still burning bright overhead. "Well, you best get cracking. Death and destruction waits for no man."

_You can say that again_, Aang thougt to himself, as he sat cross legged on the ground, facing the wide entrance to the city and the ever changing surface of the desert beyond.

**A/N: I am hoping that I can get back to uploading chapters as frequently as I did before the two month long hiatus, so hang tight those of you who are interested to see what's happening back in the Fire Nation.**

**As always, reviews really are appreciated :)**


	8. Chapter 8

It was late at night, and the large silver moon, somehow so much larger than it had been in the past, was just visible in the sky through the continuing flurry of snow that pound down on the the Fire Nation. The temperature, already low, had begun to drop dramatically over the last few weeks, and with food supplies dwindling once more the citizens were finding it more and more difficult to stay warm. For the Firelord and his group of companions, hope was starting to die once more, the coming battle with the Northern Water Tribe one of the only things that fueled them. The other, though it brought its own share of worry along with it, was the knowledge that Suki could be only days away from bringing her and Sokka's first child into the world.

The group were on edge, though no more so than Sokka himself, as he was torn between keeping his wife company and working with the Fire Nation army to make sure that she and their child should stay as safe as possible when the water tribe finally attacked. On this night however, as with all nights, worry was visible only in a slight crease of his brow as he lay asleep next to his heavily pregnant wife. Outside of their door, a lone figure took advantage of the peace, and slunk past, bare feet making not the slightest sound as they hurried past.

For Toph Beifong, sleep had become a thing of the past. It wasn't like her to be so consumed with worry and questions that she couldn't sleep, but the circumstances surrounding the last few weeks had left her disturbed and uneasy. She alone could feel just how the earth below them had started to shift, the movement ever so slight, but significant enough for her to begin to worry what else, beside the snow storms and freezing temperatures, was coming their way as the spirit world gradually pushed theirs into oblivion. Unlike her companions, she still spent much of her time thinking about the journey that two of their companions were taking in the world parallel to theirs and she knew, whether they won the battle with the Northern Water Tribe or not, their future still very much depended on Aang's ability to fulfill his duties in the spirit world.

_"Aang was hurt. Badly."_

_"We saw Tonrar stab the Avatar ... saw him throw him against the rock. We both believed that the Avatar was dead."_

The words Hakoda and Kanto had spoke swam swam lengths around her head, and no matter how much she tried to put them aside, she simply couldn't. She wasn't stupid, she knew that their lives all depended on the Avatar completing his mission, but if he was injured ... He couldn't face Tonrar when he was at his full health, how on earth was he supposed to do that now? Quietly she made her way to the main entrance of the Fire Palace, feeling the presence of three guards and, with a calculated precision, she bent a hole in the wall of the palace large enough for her to slip through, shutting it tight behind her and pressing herself back against the wall as the snow outside quickly found her. She bent the metal soles of her boots back underneath her feet and, head ducked, she lightly dropped down the snowy bank, making her way along the once stone walkway that led to the Capital's dungeons.

When she arrived, it was easy enough for her to slip by the guards without being noticed, creating another Toph-sized hole in the base of the stone building, finding herself standing in one of the lower corridors of the dungeon. She had never visited this place before, she'd had no reason to, but as she stood in the cold, dark, and lonely corridor she found herself wishing she had at least had a peak round this place earlier on, at least then she might know where she was going. She sensed no one close to her, and with an irritated sigh, she slammed her foot on the ground, her body feeling the vibrations of rock and metal in the place with her seismic senses, and was able to content herself with a vague understanding of the layout. On the top floors there were a number of people in rooms packed closely together, guarded by only two guards, and she assumed this would be where the common criminals could be found. But deeper down, on the floor below her, were two larger rooms, with a metal cell in each, keeping two lone figures trapped behind them. It was easy enough to guess who these people were, and with another check to see if there were any guards below her, bent a hole in the ground, dropping firmly onto the floor below.

"Now," she muttered to herself, "which of these chumps are you?"

Despite the apparent importance of the two prisoners held within the dungeons lower floors, there were no guards outside either of the cells, instead they stood at the main entrance, certainly having never expected an earth bender to simply drop from the heavens outside of the prisoner's doors. She smirked to herself, stopping outside the first door, and placing her hands on the cold metal surface.

It was difficult for her to really make out who exactly resided within, but from the feel of the body lying on the stone she realised that he could be quite a bit bigger than the person she was looking for. A weird feeling stirred in her stomach as she remembered a time when the man within was the biggest of their worries. Firelord Ozai had been a chump compared to Tonrar, and despite being on the run the entire time, the year spent trying to take him down was the best of her life. With a nostalgic sigh, she pulled her hand from Ozai's door, instead walking forward to the next down the line. With ease she bent the metal locks of the door, which clicked in a loud and satisfying way before opening before her. Without hesitation she slipped inside, knocking the door closed behind her with her feet.

"Who's there?"

A familiar confused, and somewhat desperate voice floated to her ears and she grinned. She'd found him alright.

"Is it dark in here?" She asked, with a shrug, walking forward to the metal cell within.

"You're the one who arrested me," said Kanto. "Toph?"

"That's right." Toph sat crossed legged on the ground, just out of the reach of the cell, facing the prisoner, who seemed to shift forward, pulling himself closer to the bars.

"What are you doing here?"

Toph cocked her head to the side, her palms pressed flat on the stone appraising the man before her. There was only so much she could tell in this way, but she knew that he was tall, about Sokka's height maybe, but with a build much more similar to Aang's, and he was incredibly nervous about her sitting before him.

"There are some things I want to ask you," Toph said at last. "Things that you didn't get to say when you were speaking to Zuko"

"What things?"

She felt Kanto's heart beat faster.

"Firstly ... you said that Innua was a killer. Who did she kill, and is that why you hate her so much?"

She could tell that Kanto was surprised by her upfront question, and he gulped, hesitating.

"Don't make me beat it out of you," Toph said lazily. Kanto leaned forward.

"She killed someone who was very important to me," he replied, his voice shaky. "She made it look like an accident, like they had just died in their sleep. But I knew they didn't, I knew that Innua murdered them."

"Who?" Toph pressed.

"I don't understand why you want to know-"

"Who?" Toph repeated, firmer. Kanto swallowed.

"Her mother." Toph raised her eyebrows. "Innua murdered her mother when she was still only fourteen years old. It wasn't long after Avatar Aang and the two southerners left after the battle with Zhao army, and everyone was still so worked up about that and trying to fix the damage to think that the death of Innua's mother was anything more than a natural one." Kanto sighed, shaking his head. "You see, most people thought she was crazy. People weren't keen on her ... Having children out of wedlock is considered a vulgar and disrespectful act in our tribe, and when she gave birth to Innua without a father present people began to gossip. But, she was a kind lady." Kanto's voice grew sad. "I lost my own mother when I was young, too, and although my father warned me about her she was sweet to me. Whilst my father taught me how to fight she taught me how to heal and how to make stuff with my hands."

"You're a waterbender?" Toph asked, surprised.

"Oh no, nothing like that," Kanto replied. "She taught me practical methods, how to dress wounds and what herbs to give." She felt Kanto's heart begin pounding in his chest. "My father was not a nice man," he said quietly. "I had plenty wounds of my own to practice on."

For the first time, Toph felt bad, and she frowned. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Kanto continued with a light shrug. "It made me strong, you see, it made me into the person I am and I don't regret that."

"My parents would keep me locked away, hide me from the world," Toph said, though not really sure why she felt the need to share that with this strange water tribe man. "But it made me strong too." She felt Kanto regard her, and hoped that it was indeed dark in the room as her cheeks grew warm. "So, how did Innua kill her?"

Kanta remained silent for a while, absently flicking the metal bars with his fingers, before answering. "Poison, I think. You see, I never liked Innua, but she didn't seem to care. She would boss me around as if I were her little brother, and she would pick on me when she got the chance, but whenever her mother was around she acted like she was my best friend. I knew there was something wrong with her ... I could just feel it. Sometimes she'd look at you and you'd swear that she was looking straight through you, and from the corner of your eye her eyes would look red and her she would grin that horrible grin of hers. She scared me," he said honestly." I knew she didn't really respect her mother, either. Innua was a waterbender, and although her mother wanted her to learn how to heal and do what the Northern women would usually do, Innua refused. And then, I guess, one day she saw her chance."

"What happened?"

"The Avatar happened," Kanto replied seriously. "He came and he stopped the Fire Nation fleet, but he couldn't stop Zhao murdering the moon spirit. And then Princess Yue, Chief Arnook's only child, gave her life to bring the moon spirit back. The Avatar and his companions left, and suddenly Arnook was left with no heir and we had no future leader. From a young age Innua could manipulate people, and she wasn't above using her lack of a father figure to gain sympathy from people, the Chief included. When Yue died, Chief Arnook was left broken hearted, and so I believe she murdered her mother, using Arnook's weakened state and his already existing soft spot for her to worm her way into his heart. Arnook took her in as his own."

"So that's why Arnook brought her," Toph muttered.

"Yes. Using her status as Arnook's adopted daughter, and her talent when it came to waterbending, she convinced the waterbending masters to teach her, and she became the first Northern woman to become a master."

"She killed her mother so she could learn waterbending?" Toph said in disbelief. "I mean, man, I knew she was cold but that's something else ..."

"I don't think she ever realised that I knew the truth," Kanto continued. "And good for me that she didn't, I guess."

Toph nodded, remaining in silence as she ran the thoughts back and forth through her mind. She could almost taste the tension in the air as Kanto watched her, uneasy with her continued presence.

"There's one other thing I need to ask you," she said at length. "About Aang."

Kanto's heart jumped.

"Hakoda said that Katara had had to save Aang's leg ... you said he'd been stabbed," Toph leaned forward this time, frowning. "What actually happened? The truth. All of it." Kanto blinked incredulously at her.

"You want to know how Avatar Aang was injured?" He asked, confused.

"Yes."

"Well," he started, his voice hesitant. "I don't exactly know what happened. But when Tonrar first took over that big insect spirit's body the Avatar seemed to have everything under control. He quickly contained Tonrar in rock and ice, and I thought it was all over. Then, Tonrar started to laugh," Kanto shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. "I just remember the Avatar screamed and falling to the floor, grabbing his head. I didn't really understand it ..."

"Tonrar was trying to control him again," Toph said shortly. "That's kinda what this shit does." To her vague amusement she heard Kanto's slight intake of breath at her choice of language, and she waved her hand, gesturing for him to continue.

"The Avatar fought back, but he was just so out matched. The first time Tonrar caught him he hit him in the hip and-" he stopped. "Do you really want to me to tell you everything?"

Toph just twirled her hand again, nodding irritably.

"Okay ... well, as I said, Tonrar caught him in the hip and sent him flying. Just, the Avatar didn't stand a chance. He didn't stop, and he didn't hold back, but then Tonrar caught him again, and he stabbed one of his sharp claws straight through the Avatar's thigh."

Toph felt weak, blood pooling in her head.

"The Avatar burned his face, so that he could escape, but then Tonrar came at him again, he caught him round the side and threw him against the rock, and knocked him out. Well, I thought he was dead," Kanto confessed. "Then just as he was about to cut the Avatar's throat I let Katara go and she stopped him."

Toph took a sharp intake of breath, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. "Oh Aang ..."

"Are you, like ..." Kanto hesitated. "In love with him or something?"

Toph looked up sharply, brow raised, before letting out a bark of laughter in surprise. "Who Twinkletoes? Are you kidding me?" She snickered, thinking of the skinny airbender.

"Then why do you want to know what happened to him?" Kanto asked curiously.

"I may not be in love with him, but he's still my friend," Toph said, her voice sharp. "He's one of my best friends, in fact, even if he is a complete lily liver."

"Oh ... I'm, ah, I'm really sorry."

"You should be," Toph said at once. "We should all be sorry. Our lives depend on him, and I mean that in a very literal sense. If Aang was that badly injured ..." She scratched her head, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "Well, let's just say we're in big trouble."

"What do you mean?" Kanto asked quickly, his hands now gripping the metal bars. "Does this have something to do with Innua's father?"

"Yes, but that's all I'm telling you," Toph pointed towards him, her head ducked low. "Thank you for answering my questions, Kanto." She got to her feet.

"Wait!" Kanto stood pressing himself against the bars. "I don't need to be in here, you know? I can help up there! I can help with Hanh."

"Help?" Toph said quizically, before barking with laughter once more. "Please, you're not a bender, you've yet to show if you're a good fighter or not, what could you possible do to help us?"

Kanto remained silent, hands dropped from the bars.

"Just stay here, and if the Firelord changes his mind you can come out," she smirked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I can fight," Kanto said glumly. "I'm a good fighter." Toph scoffed.

"Alright then, Kanto of the water tribe," she waved her hand, turning her back and heading to the door once more.

"Hey!"

"What now?" She snapped irritably.

"At least come and see me again," he said bravely. Toph was shocked into silence, before finally managing a stutter.

"W-why would I do that?"

"Because it's really dull in here," Kanto replied. "I mean really dull."

"Yeh, yeh I don't think so," Toph muttered in response, pushing her way out of the door once more, leaving the water tribe man alone in silence. _Come and see him again?_ She thought to herself._ Urgh, what a chump._

It was some time later that Toph was able to successfully make her way back to the Palace without being seen. Going downhill in the snow was easy enough, but uphill whilst trying to avoid detection from the guards was another matter entirely. Panting she pressed herself against the wall of the Palace once more, her hands pressed flat against its surface as she bent a hole and made her way through. The gentle warmth coming from the fires lit along the corridor washed over her and she breathed a small sigh of relief. But, even as she stepped away, making to head back to her room, her heart sunk and she groaned to herself as she felt the man walking up behind her.

"Oh, hey there, Sparky."

Zuko came up next to her, his confusion evident in the way he held himself.

"What were you doing sneaking in and out of the Palace?" He asked. Toph hesitated, not sure whether she should tell Zuko the truth or keep him in the dark, but then whilst Sokka and Suki were so absorbed in their own marital and life circumstances, the Firelord was perhaps the only one she could speak to with any sense of urgency. She raised her hand, before gesturing that he follow her, and she snuck into one of the empty rooms partway down the hallway. Zuko followed, both curious and apprehensive, before shutting the door behind him.

They stood in the in-house gallery, a long room dedicated to portraits of all Firelord's past and their families. It was a room that Zuko tended to stay out of, not needing any further reminders of the history of his family, and Toph could sense his trepidations. She crossed her hands across her chest, cocking her head in his direction.

"I think we have a problem."

At first, the Firelord didn't answer. He had had enough problems to last him a lifetime over the past several months, and he certainly didn't want to pile on any more. But at length he let out a low, resigned groan.

"Ok, what is it?"

"I went to go and speak to the Northern Water Tribe man," Toph started. "I asked him about Aang."

"What about Aang?" Zuko asked.

"About how he was injured ... it's bad, Zuko, worse than I thought."

Zuko fell silent once more, his mind racing. "But ... Hakoda said that he set off to the spirit world with Katara. He can't be that badly hurt?"

"Do you wanna know the gory details?" Zuko grimaced.

"Not really."

"Ok, well then let's just say that if Aang couldn't face Tonrar when he was in good health, there is no way he can face him now."

"What are you saying?" Zuko whispered.

"I'm saying we need to prepare for the possibility that Aang and Katara aren't coming back."

Toph felt Zuko's heart beat faster, his breath quickening, and his fists clenched.

"They'll come back," he said, though the uncertain waiver in his voice was clear to hear. "They have to come back." Exasperated Toph threw her hands in the air.

"What is it with you people?" She cried. "I get the truth is hard as crap but stop denying it! We can't do anything if you're all standing their with your thumbs up your asses waiting for something that might not even happen!"

Zuko was silent for a while, his head low as he frowned at the floor. At long last, he spoke, his nails biting sharply into the palms of his hands. "You're asking us to give up hope, Toph."

For a moment, she was taken back. She was reminded of the events that had taken place on the Serpent's Pass, all those years ago. _How can we abandon hope? It's all we have_. Was asking Zuko to face facts really asking him to give up hope? Was hope misguided when the chances were that there was to be no good end to all of this? And if the world was to end, were they better off staying in a dream land waiting for Aang or to spend their time preparing for their last days? She opened her mouth to answer, stuttering slightly when she realised that, in truth, she didn't have one.

"Zuko, I-"

"Firelord Zuko!" They were both snapped from their thoughts by a loud panicked voice outside. The guard raced past, and Toph heard him hurrying towards the entrance hall. Quickly, the pair left the room, following the guard who skid to a halt when he heard Zuko's voice.

"I'm here, what is it?"

The uniform turned, revealing Lieutenant Dekho, looking pale and worried.

"Firelord Zuko!" He bowed quickly before hurrying back to them. "I was sent to find you and Lady Beifong, sir, by General Sokka." He panted slightly, catching his breath. "It's Miss Suki, she's gone into labour!"

Without a seconds hesitation, Zuko and Toph immediately turned on their heel, both running at full speed towards Suki and Sokka's room.

~

When Toph and the Firelord rounded the corner leading to Suki's room, they found themselves face to face with a wide eyed and panicking Sokka, pacing backwards and forwards outside of the bedroom door, hands wringing together and teeth grit. Sokka's father sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, watching his son with growing concern. Sokka seemed to barely register the pair as they skid to a halt, panting and looking between Sokka and Hakoda for answers. Immediately Hakoda climbed to his feet.

"You're here!"

"Yes," Zuko replied, stepping forwards. "Lieutenant Dekho told us what was happening. Suki's gone into labour?" Hakoda nodded.

"About an hour ago. She's still not ready yet, we've been waiting outside ever since the healers came. Mai's in there with them."

Toph tilted her head in Sokka's direction, feeling the erratic beating of his heart and the quiet panicked mumbles under his breath.

"What's his problem?" Toph hissed. Hakoda looked back at his son, brow creased with worry.

"He's having a bit of a melt down," Hakoda replied, honestly.

"Hey, Sokka, cool it!"

Sokka stopped, noticing their presence for the first time, and his shaking hands formed fists. His hair, normally pulled up into his trademark warriors wolf tail, now hang about his face, and even in this cold weather he stood in a sleeveless tunic. His face wasn't far off that of a madman's, black rings around his wide eyes, and stubble across his chin.

"Cool it?" He cried in hysterics. "_Cool it?_ How many babies have you had, Toph?!" He began to pace again, his hands reaching up to grab his hair. Hakoda stepped from their side, reaching out to grab Sokka's shoulders.

"Sokka, calm down! I'm telling you she is going to be fine, ok?" Sokka looked desperately into his fathers eyes, before groaning and raising his hands to cover his face.

"Gaah what were we thinking?" He muttered, his voice strained. "I can't be a father! I can hardly take care of myself!" Hakoda flashed him a small smile, squeezing his shoulder.

"Sokka, you took care of yourself and your sister for years. You looked after our tribe in my absence, you and Suki helped take down an entire squadron of Fire Nation air ships! You are more than capable of taking care of her now, and your child." Sokka shook his head somewhat furiously.

"But there's a war coming!" He yelled. "And possibly the end of the world! How am I supposed to protect them against that?" It was then that his voice cracked, and his true fears became present in his pained features. Hakoda's soft smile faded. "There's no hope."

Sokka's small, broken plea sent waves of despair through Toph. From her position outside of the door she could sense what was going on in the room beyond, hear Suki's feeble whimpers as her pain increased as the contractions grew closer. But even worse than that was feeling how completely Sokka believed what he was saying, how, even though his first child was soon to be coming into this world, his hope had died out. Her eyes scrunched together as her face turned to the ground, and she curled her fists.

"Sokka there is always hope." Zuko's firm voice broke their revere, and Toph found herself thinking back on the conversation they had had in the gallery. It seemed practical to give up hope, to abandon it and focus on the facts, to begin preparing for what was to come. But as she felt Sokka's world fall away too early, she was filled with a new determination. Determination to do what she could for her friends, to get them through long enough for Aang to finish his work in the spirit world. Because he was going to finish it.

"Just as Sparky said, Snoozles," she said, stepping forward. Their eyes shifted towards her. It was then that Suki's first loud cries of pain filled the hallway, a sound that left Sokka pale and everyone else shaking. "Sokka, that baby is coming whether you're ready for it or not, and once it's here, me, and everyone else, is going to be fighting by your side to protect it. And Suki." Sokka fixed her with a anticipative look. "It's just as Sparky said," she continued, allowing a small grin to play across her lips. "There's always hope. And fuck, come on, we've been through worse, right?"

Sokka shut his eyes, taking a deep breath, as Hakoda squeezed his shoulder once more. Suki's whimpering cries came once more, just as the healer instructed her that it was time to start pushing.

"They're right, son," Hakoda said softly. "Now go be with her."

Sokka gave them all once last watery gaze, before nodding and roughly wiping his eyes with his forearm. Raising his head he pushed open the door, welcoming hope once more.

The three companions outside were soon joined by the Air Acolytes, and together they waited outside of the room, listening apprehensively to Suki's labour, to the healer's encouragement. Toph leaned against the wall, feet pressed firmly on the ground, doing her best to keep a close watch on the couple inside, on Suki's heartbeat in particular, and Hakoda occasionally looked across at her, her nodding to confirm that all was going well inside, to the chief's relief. Then, at long last, they heard it. Suki's last straining yell, followed by the sound of cheerful sobs, and then the purest, most beautiful noise any of them had every heard. Suki and Sokka's first child began to cry, and Toph felt that perfect third heartbeat, strong and fast and healthy. Outside, the companions couldn't stop the grins blossoming on their faces, and they began to to cheer, almost drowning out the sound of the baby inside. Toph patted Hakoda on the back as tears of joy began to fall down his cheek, and excitedly they waited for their friends and their new child to welcome them into the room.

After a few minutes the door opened, a tired but joyous looking Mai standing in the doorway. "Do you want to meet her?"

"A girl?" Hakoda whispered, and the group stood back to let him enter first, Toph following close behind as the delightful sight of Suki laying back in her bed, her arms cradling a tiny baby with a thick brown mop of hair on top of her head came into view. Sokka sat beside his wife, eyes still wet but the happiness brightening his features as he looked up at his father and friends. Besotted and exhausted Suki gave them a slow smile. As if in a daze Hakoda walked forwards, dropping down to Suki's side and looking down at his first grandchild.

"Say hello to your first grandchild," Suki said softly, carefully brushing the hair back across her forehead. "Nerri. After my grandmother."

"Nerri ..." Hakoda repeated, smiling broadly.

"She looks so much like her mother," Sokka said, reaching out to stroke his wife's face, chest inflated and cheeks rosey with love and pride.

"She looks a little bit like you too," Zuko added, taking in the brilliant flash of blue as Nerri opened her eyes to gaze across as her grandfather. Hakoda chuckled.

"She's far too beautiful to look like Sokka," he sniggered, throwing his son a wink. Too happy to protest, Sokka just nodded, his eyes glazed over as he looked at his daughter.

"Well, I think she looks like both of you," Toph said with a shrug, and an easy laugh followed her words, as everyone in the room, for the first time in months felt hopeful, their souls cheered to be in the presence of so much love as the young family's hearts beat as one. An uncharacteristically peaceful smile played across Toph's lips as she listened to them. _Aang can do it_, she thought to herself. _There is always hope._


	9. Chapter 9

Aang took a deep nasal breath, holding it for eight counts, before slowly breathing out through his mouth. He sat crossed legged in his usual position on the courtyard, just in front of the fountain and facing the large archway that looked out onto the dry, choking desert beyond. It was difficult to say how long they had been in this lone marble city in the middle of nowhere, days and nights were as unpredictable as Avatar Sansetsu had said they would be, the shortest day so far being a mere forty-five minutes, but this was by far the longest they had yet experienced. And it seemed that the longer the sun stayed up in the sky the hotter it got. Aang sat with his bare back burning as he kept his eyes closed, hands resting lightly on his knees, trying to block out the sensation. He had counted eight days, if you could even call them that, that he had been meditating for. Eight days of trying to block out every single worry that he had and focus on his inner energy. The truth was that his inner energy didn't feel anything like he remembered. There was turmoil there, no doubt the Avatar spirit that had since been so at peace with him now angry and raging and boiling below the surface, and it frightened him. The first two days he had found meditation all but impossible, his mind too ablaze with worry to calm, but on the forth day he finally managed to slip into a state he was familiar with, the outside world quieting, his breathing easing, and his mind seeming to become entirely separate from his body. That was when he found it, that spirit inside him, crouched down as if waiting for him to wander too far so it could lunge. With a gasp his eyes had snapped open, his body jumping as if he had been falling. He could understand why Sansetsu wanted him to master his meditation once more, to achieve inner peace, but he was walking a thin line between having control and losing himself once more to the rage of the spirit inside. He wondered if Sansetsu knew just how fine that line was ...

On this long day, the eighth day, Aang was learning to dance around the spirit within, to allow himself to fall into a state of meditation without falling into her realms. In his minds eye he could see a wide expanse of forest, sunlight breaking through the canopy leaving a beautiful bright green halo across the sky above him. He could wander here safely, listening to the sound of the breeze rustling through the leaves. But there was still an unease, and if he strayed to far he would find an area where the forest had just died. No fire had burned the trees, nothing had pulled them from their roots, they just died and withered away until only the rock below remained. And here the Avatar spirit resides, a dark shadow in the center of the grave, whimpering and rocking to itself. Once he stepped too far, his bare feet making contact with the stone, and it looked up, a vision of himself with blue glowing eyes, naked and covered in dust, wild matted hair sticking to his face as he bared his teeth and screamed. He learned to stay away from that place, and though he knew it was there and that creature still resided within, he could find a sense of peace knowing that, so long as he steered clear, it would stay where he had left it. On the eighth day, with the sun burning his back, he breathed easy despite the darkness.

"You're back."

A soft voice fluttered across the breeze in the forest, but it registered no more to him than the gentle trickle that came from a nearby stream.

"He's been meditating for the entire day, it's got to have been at least twelve hours now ..."

"Fourteen."

A low male voice cut in, the dulcet tones contrasting with the gentle sounds of the forest, and suddenly Aang became aware of the movement around him.

"How long does he need to keep doing this for?" The female voice hissed.

"Do you think he's ready?"

The forest became to fade away as his consciousness filled his body back up once more.

"By now he'll have found the Avatar spirit ... he's not gone into the Avatar State, so either he's fighting her or he's avoided he-"

"What?!"

Katara's raised voice brought him back to the courtyard with a bang. His eyes opened, and he became aware of the burning on his back, and irritably he looked round over his shoulder. Katara and Avatar Sansetsu stood behind him, the former with her eyes wide as she realised how loud she had spoken, with Sansetsu crossing his large arms and scoffing.

"Sorry," Katara said, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"You've got a point though," Aang replied, climbing gingerly to his feet, twisting his head to try and get a look at his burnt back, before looking back at them with a sigh. "I know why you thought it was so important that I master meditation again."

Curiously Katara looked between the pair, a shadow of concern across her features.

"So you found her?" Sansetsu asked. Aang hesitated, thinking back to the glowing, snarling and feral doppelganger he had found in the forest of his mind.

"Yeh, I saw it."

A flicker of something crossed across Sansetsu's face, his eyes twitching and his brow lowering a fraction of an inch before the look passed. "And what did you do?"

Aang felt Katara's blue eyes boring into his, and did his best to keep his gaze fixed on the past Avatar stood before him. She had questions, and it wouldn't be long before she asked them.

"I avoided it," Aang admitted, not sure whether Sansetsu had hoped that would be how he reacted to finding the snarling spirit with.

"Good," the Avatar replied, his face expressionless. "You're not strong enough to face the Avatar State again. But now you know she's there, now you can visualise her and where she's hiding, everything you do from this point will be aimed towards making her hiding place smaller. Chip away at it piece by piece, growing stronger and more prepared to deal with her when you finally go into the Avatar State again."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Damn right it makes sense," Sansetsu snapped. "And no more of this vague _'I guess'_ and _'if you say so'_ crap. You either agree or you don't."

"Alright, alright," Aang replied, holding his hands up in submission before adding, in a low grumble, "what happened to you to make you such a hard ass?"

Sansetsu's expression hardened, his upper lip curling into a snarl before he reached forward with a flash, his muscled and abnormally large arm throwing his robes aside as, with a loud yelp from Aang, he grabbed hard of the younger Avatar's ear. Still yelping, and with protests from Katara, Aang found himself being dragged away from the fountain and towards the closest side of the courtyard to the wide open archway, dancing on tiptoes as he tried to keep up with the older Avatar and avoid his ear being pulled any harder. With a grunt Sansetsu let go of him, turning to face Aang with his fists on his hips, amusement on his face.

"Now, to start the next stage of your training."

"So I'm done mastering meditation then?" Aang asked, rubbing his red and sore ear and throwing Sansetsu a glare.

"I wouldn't say you've mastered it," Sansetsu replied contemptuously. "But I suppose we can managed with the little you've achieved so far."

"Your faith is inspiring," Aang mumbled. "Truly I have never had a better teacher."

"Aang," Katara said warningly, nodding to Sansetsu before seating herself on the fountain.

"You're on his side?" Aang cried, raising his hands in despair. "I've already got a limp and a scar on my face, if I've not got one ear bigger than the other I swear to Koh I'll-"

"You'll what?" Sansetsu interrupted. "You'll cry like a big baby? Like a big baby who shit his pants?"

"Oh that's real mature," Aang snapped, rubbing his angry red ear once more. He hadn't thought it was possible until now to have a tougher teacher than Toph, but here he stood, in front of an airbender no less, being treated like a child.

"Just stand on the damn circle," Sansetsu cut in, gesturing irritably to one of the decorative ring of marbles on the floor of the courtyard. Gritting his teeth Aang stomped over, thinking back somewhat enviously to the time not more than a few minutes ago where he had been in a peaceful meditative state. As he turned back to face him, Sansetsu untied his sash, shrugging off his robe and dropping it to the side. The man was impossibly muscled, broad chested and definitely intimidating, with every single angle of his torso defined. With his own skinny frame and poorly defined wiriness Aang suddenly felt very inadequate and vulnerable. He glanced over at Katara, and saw her eye darting him and the mountain of a man that stood before him, unmasked doubt on her face.

"So, uh, what's the next lesson?" Aang asked, trying hard not to gulp as Sansetsu proceeded to crack his knuckles, the way that he eyed him not much different from how the dog spirits had done back in the forest.

"It's obviously from the scar on your face and that annoying as fuck limp that, not only have you let your basic meditative skills go to shit, but that your fight and maneuverability isn't what it was either." Aang's nervousness only grew. "Now, what is that all airbenders must be?"

Aang blinked. "We must be peaceful and non-violent, and-"

"Wrong!" Sansetsu's voice rang out clear like a bell. "We must be fast on our feet. Back in my day we were taught that the best airbending fighters were the ones that never made contact with their enemy. We let them wear themselves out, use their-"

"Their own weight against them, yeh I get it," Aang interrupted. "What's your point?"

"My point is your enemy made contact. Twice," Sansetsu gestured to Aang's face and then his leg. "And the next time you face Tonrar you can't even let him make contact once. You understand, when you last fought against him he was in the body of a rotting, dying spirit. But now that spirit's body has been back in the spirit world for a good while, and will have been for even longer by the time you're ready to face him. His body will be stronger, and he will know better how to control it."

Bitterly Aang thought back to hearing Tonrar's voice come from Koh's stinking body, and the weight and strength behind the force that had stabbed into his thigh. He swallowed.

"Further more, you are also at a disadvantage this time. Even if you are able to control the Avatar State that leg isn't going to be getting better any time soon." Aang looked down at his right thigh, frowning. "Short of some spirit water from the Northern Oasis that leg is about as recovered as it will ever be."

He knew he was right. For the past eight days he had been able to thoroughly rest his leg, and despite that and daily healing from Katara he had found that there was a dull ache in his hip that simply didn't fade, and a slight limp that seemed to have settled into his gait. The truth was, for an airbender, a damaged leg was a huge deal.

"So you need to learn to work with your new disability," Sansetsu continued. "You need to learn how much weight you can put down on it before it gives, and how to favour your left side rather than your right. Essentially, if Tonrar catches you and aims for that leg, which you can bet your ass he will, you're fucked."

"Alright, I get it," Aang sighed. "So, how do we start?"

"Like this."

As quick as a flash Sansetsu lunged forward with his fist, aiming straight for Aang's face. He tried to react quickly, bending his knees so as to jump clear over the Avatar's head, but he simply wasn't fast enough against the master airbender, and with a pained grunt he felt the large fist sink into his midriff, throwing him back several feet before he landed on his rear in one of the flower beds.

"Aang!"

Wincing he looked up, hand going to his pained stomach as he saw the exasperation across Sansetsu's face, the old Avatara shaking his head. Katara was quickly at his side, before she turned her head sharply round.

"What is your deal?" She snarled at Sansetsu. "Are you trying to help him or are you actually aiming to make things worse?"

"Well, actually I was aiming for his head," Sansetsu replied with a shrug. Katara growled, jumping to her feet, the air around them cooling as she drew the little water from the fountain towards her, freezing it.

"Katara," Aang reached forward, grabbing her wrist. She looked back at him, eyes blazing furiously, and he shook his head. "I'm ok, it's not worth it." Her nostrils flared, looking at him doubtfully before she dropped her hands with a snarl.

"Alright, just this time," she said, her voice still shaking with rage. "But if he keeps this stupid game up I'm going to stick that fountain water right through his damn skull."

Sansetsu let out a long low whistle. "Seriously, why can't you be the Avatar?"

Gingerly Aang climbed to his feet, relieved at least that his short flight hadn't hurt his leg. He put his hand on Katara's shoulder and, with a low grumble, she nodded and headed back over to the fountain where she took her seat once more. Dutifully Aang took his place with Sansetsu once more, hating the contemptuous look across his face. Aang knew that Sansetsu didn't strictly like him, but it was becoming obvious that it was more than just that ... the old Avatar had no respect for Aang, and the way he looked at him made it clear that it wasn't just that he didn't like him ... he hated him.

"Not the best start was it?" Sansetsu scoffed. "And looks like your mummy had to come to your rescue again. I'm embarrassed for you, truly."

Suddenly he found himself really wanting to wipe that look off Sansetsu's face. He was a peaceful soul, he avoided a fight, he solved his problems without violence, but that big bald head really needed a smack.

"Ok, one more time."

Sansetsu didn't give Aang any time to gather himself, but Aang didn't need it. Sansetsu was fast, faster than anyone he had ever faced before, faster even than Azula, but Aang was faster, he knew that he was. He had mastered airbending at twelve years of age, he had defeated Ozai at little under thirteen years of age, and he had mastered three elements in less than a year. Almost in slow motion he saw Sansetsu's fist fly towards him, the old Avatar adjusting his course to the right no doubt in an effort to catch him off guard, and pushing most of his weight onto the left leg Aang jumped in the air, clearing his head, and as he did he pushed down once more, using Sansetsu's big bald head to propel himself higher. He looked behind him to see Sansetsu thrown forward, his face colliding painfully with the marble floor below as Aang landed elegantly behind him. Triumphant raised his head, as grunting Sansetsu pulled himself up from the ground.

"I'm embarrassed for you," Aang said. "Truly."

Brushing himself off Sansetsu looked over at him before his face broke into a maniacal grin. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He cracked his fists again. "Again!"

Aang and Katara exchanged another look, each raising a single eyebrow.

The day continued much the same for a further two hours, Sansetsu throwing hits and jabs and kicks whilst Aang dodged and ducked and jumped. But after besting the old Avatar once, however, it was proving difficult to do so again. Aang was becoming more and more aware of the weakness on his right side, and instinct would often take charge before common sense and he would take a leap from his right foot or dodge to Sansetsu's left and find himself slowed down by the sharp bite in his joints. Each time Sansetsu would scold him, giving him little time to recover before he was on him once more. Being essentially a spirit Sansetsu didn't grow tired as Aang did, and as the sun finally started to make its decent he was panting and sweating, his mop of hair stuck to his face and his hip screaming at him. But as angry as he was at Sansetsu for pushing so hard, he knew that this old Avatar was nothing compared to Tonrar.

Sansetsu looked up at the sky, sighing before reaching down to grab his robes, and gratefully Aang dropped to the floor, trying to slow his breathing.

"You can do better," Sansetsu said, looking down at him, his voice heartless. "From this point on we work on your speed and physical strength. You better hope this night is a long one because we start as soon as the sun comes back up once more." And with that, the old Avatar disappeared. Aang grimaced that the empty spot where he had stood, wiping his wrist across his sweaty forehead as Katara made her way over to him.

"That looked pretty rough," she said quietly, looking down at him concerned. "He's going too fast. Pushing too hard. This is just going to make things worse."

With a heavy sigh he climbed back to his feet, groaning at the pain in his body. "No, we've already been in this place too long, Katara. I don't have the luxury of time any more." He glanced up at the sky. "Come on, let's get inside."

Quietly Katara followed, her face a turmoil of emotions.

As soon as they were in their empty home away from home, Aang dropped down on the bed, laying his back out flat and groaning. Everything ached by this point, not just his hips. Sansetsu hadn't held back, and he knew that there would be a fresh trail of bruises across his body by the time the sun came up, and with his freshly burned back, head of ridiculous curly hair, and that scar across his face he found himself glad that he couldn't see himself.

He was so tired that he didn't feel Katara until she had sat next to him, and with effort he opened his eyes, looking across at the picture of radiance beside him that clashed almost hysterically to himself, and he smiled.

"You're much too pretty for me," he said sleepily. His stomach churned and his body hurt, but despite all that he was finding his eyes growing very heavy ...

"Well if you're going to keep letting yourself get beaten up like that ..." Katara's tone wasn't a light one, and his eyes opened again, alert at the sound of her voice. Her eyes were drifting down his body, lips pursed as she examined the cuts and the bruises already forming down his sides. With a grunt he tried to raise up himself up, but Katara reached out and pressed her hand forcibly against his chest, lying him back down. Without a word she pulled the water from the small bowl beside her and set to work on his injuries, her face dark and her shoulder stiff. She was angry, he knew that. At him? Probably. And Sansetsu? Most definitely. But mostly he knew she still had questions, questions that perhaps now she felt she couldn't ask, questions for which the answers she was hoping he would willingly offer to her without her asking. He lay in silence, watching her, trying to work out just how much he could offer before worrying her even more.

"Sit up," she said, her voice rigid. "I need to check your sunburn."

Dutifully he pulled himself up, bending forward so that she could set to work on his back. With his face no longer visible to hers he felt brave enough to finally speak.

"I don't see the Avatar Spirit."

Katara didn't answer, only pausing for a moment before continuing her healing.

"Something is there. When I meditate it's like there's an entire area of my soul that I can't go to. Like ... it's not just negative chi, at least not just mine. It's like ..." he hesitated, waving his hand before him searching for the words to describe what it felt like. "There's a darkness and it's not just mine, there just feels like there's too much of it to be mine alone."

"So, what do you see?" Katara asked, speaking at long last. "If not the Avatar Spirit what do you see?" Aang paused, looking at the small flame of the candle that illuminated their bed, his heart hammering and his stomach churning at the thought of what he was about to say.

"Me."

At that, Katara froze, the water dropping onto the mattress. Aang shut his eyes tight. He had frightened her, he shouldn't have said anything. But then he felt her hand on his arm, squeezing tight, and he looked up into her wide intense eyes.

"What do you mean you see you?" She asked. Aang looked up at the ceiling, intent on avoiding her gaze once more.

"There's this ... place, that I keep seeing in my dreams. I've been there before, it's where Tonrar pulled me into the spirit world, leaving my body behind. But, I saw it even before then. It's where it happens, in my dream, it's where I ..." he swallowed, before taking a deep breath. "It's where I'm standing each time I find myself covered in blood." _Where I see you dead._ "When I meditate there's a place, that darkness, and I think it's the same. It doesn't look exactly the same. In my nightmares there's nothing but rock around me, but when I meditate it's surrounded by a forest, but the rocks are the same ... that coldness is the same."

"Except when you meditate _you're_ there," Katara pushed, her hands tightening around his arm even more.

"There's someone there ... it doesn't really look like me-" he then paused, reaching up and grabbing a handful of his dirty hair. "Actually, on second thoughts I suppose it does now. But it just sits there. Rocking and ... whimpering, like it's in pain. And if I get to close it wakes up. Looks at me and it's my face. My eyes are glowing and it starts to laugh and snarl and it- I look like this crazed animal." He shook his head, the memory sitting painfully in his skull. "I could never really look like that."

Katara dropped his arm as if she had been burned. "Yes you could. Thanks to Sansetsu I've seen you looking like an animal."

Aang looked over at her sharply, registering a coldness in her eyes, unsure if she was guarding herself, or him.

"I've always hated seeing you in the Avatar State. Even once you learned how to control it you were never yourself. You were cold, and you had a job to do, and I fear that if I hadn't been there you would have done something you'd regret a long time ago. But seeing you like this? Seeing you so consumed by the Avatar State ... looking like you want to kill, like you want to hurt people ... there's nothing more terrifying than that, Aang."

Doubtfully he reached out to her, his hand taking hers as the weight of her words settled down on him.

"It makes sense that you see yourself. The darkest part of yourself is that snarling beast, and I suppose for someone as good and pure as you, Aang, the darkness must be pretty ready to make it's move by now."

Quietly Aang took in her words. Perhaps she was right. He had never let the dark side of him surface, in fact he had barely registered that there_ was_ a dark side to himself beside what happened when he wasn't in control of the Avatar State, and even then that wasn't really _him_ was it? But maybe there was a dark side to his own psyche, separate from the Avatar Spirit, and maybe that side of him was what was helping to fuel the Avatar Spirit's rage.

"I think that place, the one in my nightmare's, and when I meditate ... I think it's real. And I think I need to find it."

Katara let out a dry laugh. "But isn't that where all the bad stuff happens? Isn't that where you lose it and see Tonrar?"

"Yes, but maybe that's not supposed to happen. Maybe I'm supposed to get there before Tonrar."

"Or maybe you're supposed to avoid it," Katara pointed out. Aang picked at the mattress.

"I'll end up there sooner or later, we both know that. So maybe I should try and find it rather than just stumble across it?"

Blue eyes inspected his face, before nodding. "Yes, I guess you could be right." He reached forward again, grasping both her hands tight in his.

"We already know more than we did before," he whispered, his face close to hers. "We're here, Sansetsu is teaching me ... in his own way. And for the moment I know I can avoid the Avatar State, I know where in my mind I can't venture. I just need to tough out the next few days, or weeks, or however long it takes for Sansetsu to decide I'm ready. And if he takes too long then we go anyway."

Katara raised her eyebrows. "That's ridiculous, Aang."

"The world is going to end," Aang said firmly, the words ringing in his ears. "One way or another I am going to end this ... either I stop Tonrar and the worlds split once more, or I don't and this all ends. I have to make tough choices, Katara." She scoffed, shaking her head.

"I know that." Then, mercifully, she flashed him a small smile. "We've already had to make tough choices, Aang."

Nodding solemnly he leaned forward, pressing his lips against her cheek. But quickly she reached forward balling her hand in the back of his hair and pulling his lips heavily against hers. Aang felt the familiar jolt in his stomach, that weightlessness in his limbs, and he returned her kiss in full, though all the time aware that that hitting, spitting version of him wasn't too far away. She seemed to know that too, and she pulled away before they could truly lose themselves in each other, looking up at him with hooded eyes.

"Hey, do you remember the days when all we had to worry about was Firelord Ozai taking over the world and you mastering three elements in less than a year?"

Aang laughed, delighted at the twinkle that had returned to her eyes. "Yeh, those were the days."

"Come on, we best get some sleep. I don't think Sansetsu is joking when he says training will resume as soon as the sun comes back. We could only have about twenty minutes."

"Good point," Aang agreed, before bending away the water that had fallen onto their mattress, pulling back the blankets and furs so that they could slide in together.

~

Bad dreams. Fitful sleep. Confusion. The morning started just as every morning had for much of the year, except this time his body ached from all that it had been put through the day before. Groaning Aang sat himself up, looking blearily across at the still sleeping form of Katara, shoulders rising gently as she slept, face buried in her pillow, and has he had done the last several mornings he decided to let her sleep, quietly pulling himself to his feet and tiptoeing his way past her to the ladder that led to the upper floor.

He hated catching sight of himself in the small mirror that settled above the basin in the bathroom. The bags under his eyes had become as familiar now as the ugly scar that ran down from his eye to his cheek, and that infuriating birds nest of hair that sat atop his head. After spitting his tooth wash into the basin, rubbing water over his face and through his hair, evaluating his appearance with a disappointed puff of air, he continued down stairs, quietly slipping outside, casting one last glance at Katara as he did so.

Sansetsu wasn't standing at his usual position by the marble arch closest to the house, which Aang acknowledged with a certain relief. He took a deep breath, able to enjoy, at least, the fresh cool morning air as it kissed his skin. Perhaps Sansetsu had decided that he would give him some time to recover after all? At that thought he could only scoff. No doubt it wouldn't be long before the past Avatar swooped down on with with a surprise attack and his foul language. With that in mind Aand decided to take advantage of his absence, and take a walk along the long wall that separate the city from the desert. Gracefully, despite his aching joints, he bent himself up using the walls and roofs of the surrounding buildings before landing lightly on the tall wall, closing his eyes as the fresh breeze washed up from the desert below.

He walked in silence, the sound of the birds singing on one side and the dunes shifting on the other providing the soundtrack to his lone wander. There was something that could be said for the spirit world, he supposed, it was much quieter here than the mortal one, and in some ways perhaps more peaceful. He looked down at the city as he walked, balancing himself easy on the two foot wide walkway provided, his eyes drawn to the series of round, white, marble courtyards that dotted the city. Again he found himself wondering if those poor lost souls were still there, still walking their endless rotations, just invisible under the light of the sun. He sighed, looking forward to see a large flag post obstructing his way, but as he made to slip past, he froze, catching sight of a lone figure, standing at the very edge and looking down into the desert below.

Sansetsu seemed lost in thought, the breeze picking up the hem of his sleeveless robe as he stood in the solid form that he could only take in the spirit world. Aang hesitated, not wanting Sansetsu to know that he had managed to sneak up on him, but not wanting him to think that he was prying either, but there was something, a tangled turmoil of emotion on the past Avatar's face, and he felt he couldn't leave. The man looked like he was in pain, his fists clenched and jaw shit, brow creased as his eyes looking down to the dunes below, as if pleading for them to rise up and take him. Aang watched, heart hammering, as the Avatar raised his foot, holding it over the edge of the wall as if he planned to step out into thin air. For a moment both Avatar's remained still, before Sansetsu shut his eyes, placing his foot back on the wall. Quietly Aang took his moment to steal away, hurrying back down the wall and onto the roof of the nearest building, praying that Sansetsu wouldn't hear him.

As he jumped from roof to roof, brow furrowed, he found himself thinking of something that Sansetsu had said when they first met ..._ I know what it's like when the Avatar spirit has more power than you do_ ... there had always been something there, a certain sadness that occasionally surfaced on Sansetsu's face that would be swiftly buried and replaced by his bad temper and sarcasm. He couldn't help but wonder what it was, exactly, that made Sansetsu so qualified to teach him over the other past Avatara's, especially over Roku, and just how bad it had been. Lost in thought he made his way to the courtyard. Had Sansetsu lost control of the Avatar spirit too? Had he hurt people in the Avatar State?

"Where have you been?"

Aang looked up sharply, alarmed to see Sansetsu leaning against his favoured archway, eyes narrowed as he eyed him suspiciously. Aang blinked, straightening and trying to look as innocent as he could.

"I was just taking a walk," he said quickly. "You weren't about yet so I thought I'd stretch my legs."

"Right ..." The past Avatar continued to watch him, clearly unsatisfied with Aang's answer. Awkwardly Aang cleared his throat, walking forward onto the courtyard and taking his place on the circle that he had been directed to the day before.

"So what are we doing today?"

"Core work."

"Ok, cool, where do I start?" Sansetsu smirked, before pointing to the ground.

"Press ups. Go."

"Uhh, ok how many?"

"As many as you can before I tell you to stop." Aang glowered at him, any previous sympathy he had had fast falling away as he dropped to the ground.

It was half an hour before Katara woke, making her way from the house and walking up to Aang on the courtyard.

"How long have you been doing that for?" She asked, stopping beside him. Sweat dripping from the tip of his nose and panting, Aang grunted as he straightened his arms for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"I dunno, half hour maybe," he muttered. "Why?"

Katara sighed. "Because Sansetsu is practically in tears over there laughing."

Incredulously Aang looked back, and sure enough Sansetsu sat on the fountain, holding his stomach and he sniggered, tears streaming down his face. Immediately Aang collapsed, his arms giving way.

"What's the deal, Sansetsu?" He yelled. At that the past Avatar just laughed harder.

**A/N: Hi folks! Sorry that it's been so long since I last updated. Simply put, I am incredibly busy these days. I went self employed a couple of months ago, and with admin and commission work taking up almost all of my time it's difficult to find the time (and energy) to write! And with my illness I truthfully end up spending my free time sleeping.**

**However, I have surgery lined up for the beginning of next month that shall diagnose and, hopefully, fix my problems. And the week following that I plan to take a little break from work, and maybe focus on getting as much of this story done as I can.**

**I promised all of you a number of times that I would finish this. And I will. It may take another year but I'm dedicated to this story, it's been my baby for almost a year now and there's so much I can't wait to get to and to write about and to hear your reactions on. But you just gotta be patient with me, I'm afraid!**


	10. Chapter 10

They all clearly remembered that moment. That moment where things changed and they knew, truly, for the first time that the world was going to end. The moment when the snow stopped and everyone turned their faces to the sky, eyes bright and hearts hopeful that maybe they had reached the end of this terrible period in time. The workers stopped and dropped their tools, and people ran into the streets, yelling in excitement. Inside the Palace faces pressed to the windows, and a new father ran out onto the balcony, his wife following cradling their daughter. Though those more familiar with the crackling sensation around them knew that something wasn't right, for the most people all anyone could do was smile and weep as the wind died down. The Firelord sensed the change, looking up sharply from his throne as he felt the hair on the back of his neck start to stand up. In a flash he jumped to his feet, racing from the throne room and towards the wide entrance to his home, the guards already standing with the doors open, looking up into the sky. Some smiling, some rubbing their arms to rid the goosebumps. Those that noticed saluted their Firelord as he hurried past.

In the stables Xing Ying sat with Yuva, she had been trying to teach the little bison to stay when Yuva's fur bristled and she let out a small moan, turning and running to Appa's side. The air acolyte watched in confused as Appa began to growl, pressing himself as far away from the entrance to his stable as he could, placing one of his legs in front of his little charge. Amazed she saw that the snow was no longer falling, and with a glance back at the bison she inched forward, only to find her progress hindered when Yuva grabbed hold of her robes, pulling her roughly backwards.

Outside in the city below, Toph stood with her feet pressed firmly to the ground. Around her she could hear the cheers and the celebration, but all she could really sense was the drop in the wind and that feeling ... like something was dancing across her skin. For two glorious minutes the citizens of the Fire Nation Capital danced in the streets, whooping and spinning, and then came the long low growl of thunder. They froze, eyes wide and fearful, uncertain until, with a flash that illuminated the entire city, a hiss and a crack filled the air as the largest bolt of lightning anyone had ever seen shot into the ocean, and their awed silence turned into screams.

"What's going on?" Toph herd Dekho's voice from her right, before the pressure started to grow, an instant humidity that seemed to press in on her very ear drums. Screams came again as the second bolt of lightning came down, this time over the harbor, and Toph heard, with a sickening feeling in her stomach, as one of the ships cracked and people began to panic.

"We need to get out of here!" Toph yelled. "Get everyone inside, go!"

Her baby sitters immediately head off, trying to usher the frightened people into their homes. They were close to the harbor, only half way through their daily rounds, and the Palace was a long way away from here, too far to run, and so Toph stood her ground, fighting to make sense of what was going on through the screaming and the running around her.

"Get in your homes!" She yelled, though even her loud voice was impossibly to hear over the third flash of lightning, and the thunder that followed. And then came the fourth, and the fifth. She realised that the lightning was hitting the City, and with each growing sensation of electricity that shot through her limbs she heard more screams and the smell of burning wood and, to her horror, flesh. Everyone was in far too much of a panic now to listen to her, and she could no longer sense Dekho or Heishi nearby. Another crack came followed by pained and horrified wails, and she started to panic, unable to see or sense or feel anything besides the lightning and the pressure and the panic.

The next bolt of lightning came close, much too close. She felt her teeth tingle and all of her hair stand on its end and, with no idea what else she could possibly do, she ran, holding her hands out in front of her to try and sense where she was going. She ran into several people, but everyone was far too preoccupied with the storm to notice her and, as someone large bashed into her side she found herself thrown across the ground, her body coming in contact with the the cold hard stone. Panting she lay there, hands digging into the rock, desperate to get some understanding of her surroundings.

"Aww man, will you all stop moving so much?!"

Another crash came, this time to her right and she immediately felt the heat of it across her body. A loud creaking came, and desperately she curled into a ball, throwing her hands around her head as, fire and shrapnel flying across the city, the building she had dropped down next to came crashing down on her, and all went to black.

At the Palace, Zuko stood, eyes wide with horror as he watched lightning bolt after lightning bolt strike his City, destroying homes and the defenses they had worked so hard to create through the snow storm. The guards yelled at him to come back inside but he was death to their pleas, unable to take his eyes away from the City below. One of their smaller warships was on fire, people were swarming and trying to take shelter where they could and then, suddenly, it stopped. A deathly silence followed, his ears popping with the pressure. One last long low grumble of thunder came and then the madness ended, the dark clouds above still shimmering with light but, for now, keeping their electric storm waging inside of themselves. Finally the voices of the guards were heard and Zuko slowly turned his head.

"Firelord Zuko you must get back inside!" One of them insisted. Paled and shaking Zuko stood, staring blankly at the guard before a wail from the City shook him.

"Get the General, Sokka, Toph, Hakoda, get everyone and get them to meet me in the throne room at once! This is a state of emergency we need everyone out there coordinating rescue. Go!"

At once the guards rushed off, and Zuko turned on his heel, hurrying back to the throne room where he saw Sokka and Suki carrying their new daughter, eyes wide with fear and confusion, coming the opposite way.

"What the spirits just happened?" Sokka asked. "Zuko what was that?"

"I guess that's the next stage of the world's colliding," Zuko said grimly. "Get to the throne room, we need everyone there as soon as possible so we can coordinate a rescue, there are people trapped out there and fires to put out."

Sokka nodded, guiding Suki inside.

Before long the throne room was buzzing with the higher ups, all shaking and confused as to what had just happened, looking round at one another for reassurance, and at Zuko for hope. Zuko's mind was racing. There were people out there, his people, who were hurt, trapped, or even worse. How could things have changed so suddenly? They were prepared for an attack, they had started to learn how to manage that blizzard, and now the heaven's opened up and attacked them. His hands shook visibly, and try as he might to still them he just couldn't. Mai stood at his side, cradling their daughter, watching him with concern as she saw his body shaking. He felt her hand on his shoulder and, taking strength from hers, he stood, and everyone silenced.

"Is everyone here?" He asked. "Are we missing any body?"

Necks craned as they all got a good look at one another. Sokka felt his heart sink as he looked, a familiar face somehow not to so obvious in the crowd.

"Good," Zuko continued. "Let's get straight to the po-"

"Wait!" Sokka interrupted. "Toph. Where's Toph?"

Zuko's heart sank and he looked wildly around the crowd, and sure enough her big bob was no where to be seen.

"She and Dekho were on their daily patrol," said Yee-Li, her voice small and her face lit with worry. "They were out there!"

"Go," Zuko said as Sokka immediately stood.

"Sokka be careful," Suki hissed, rocking baby Nerri.

"I'm coming too!" Xing Ying jumped to her feet from beside Yee-Li, who was quick to follow.

"And me," Hakoda stepped forward from the back of the crowd.

"Find them," Zuko said as the foursome hurried from the room. He tried to fight that sickening feeling in his stomach, he'd watched it all happen ... the panic, the noise. Dekho and Heishi may have made it out ok, but Toph? Toph was blind ... in all that commotion. He shut his eyes and swallowed, trying to push the thoughts from his mind.

"We need to be quick about this," he continued, forcing a strength to his voice. "All firebenders, regardless of rank, I need you to gain control of those fires. General Mamoru, you and your non benders are responsible for search and rescue, there are people trapped in buildings out there. Arnaq, there are likely going to be lots needing medical help, it'll take far too long to get everyone up here to the Palace ... the infirmary in the northern region, it looks like that area wasn't struck, luckily, you and your best medics can set up a base there. Everyone else, the injured will need carrying to the infirmary. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Good, go." Immediately the people in the room jumped to their feet, Mamoru calling over their head for her non benders to join her, one of the firebending lieutenants calling across for firebenders. Zuko gestured for Suki, who hurried over to him and Mai, cradling Nerri.

"Look, I know you both want to be out there," Zuko said apologetically. "But with the children ..."

"Zuko, there are the baby sitters," Mai interrupted.

"Yes, let us help!" Suki asserted. Zuko hesitated.

"But ... Sokka-"

"Oh be damned to Sokka," Suki hissed. "I've spent the past five months unable to to a damn thing. Yes I'm a mother now but I'm also a warrior, let me help."

Zuko sighed, trying hard not to think of how furious Sokka would be with him when he found out, before eventually nodding.

"Ok, but there's still a chance that the lightning will start again ... so please just be careful."

"Stop fussing, Zuko," Mai snapped. "We're more than capable of taking care of ourselves. It's not like we lost the ability to think for ourselves when we had children."

Zuko shrunk under Mai's blazing glare, nodding. There was no way he could ever forget how easily Mai could kick his butt if she wanted to.

"Ok, join search and rescue, bring people to infirmary."

"What are you going to do?" Mai asked, as one of the baby sitters came forward to take Meiya.

"Join the firebenders," Zuko replied, standing. He kissed Meiya on the forehead, and the little girl just giggled and gurgled, enviously indifferent to the drama around her.

~

"Where would she be?" Sokka cried as the four of them hurried down the stairs. "The City is huge, she could be anywhere!"

"Yee-Li," Xing Ying said, "you must know Dekho's routine by now, he's your boyfriend after all."

Yee-Lie blushed, throwing her friend a dark glare. "Well no one was supposed to know but thanks! He left a couple hours ago, so he must be halfway through his rounds by now ... the harbor!"

"The harbor it is!"

The damage close to the Palace was minimal, and it seemed as though most people in the City had made their way up the hill to the Palace grounds, standing and crying as they looked down at the destruction below. Sokka and the others pushed their way through the crowd before they, too, came to a stand still, looking down in disbelief at the mess below. There were fires across the entire bottom of the City, a ship burned, slowly falling into the harbor, and buildings lay collapsed and on fire. There were people still down there, some calling for help, others desperately searching through the rubble, and Sokka felt the blood drain from his face. Quickly he ran onwards, sliding down the hill as the others followed him, eyes wide and searching as he looked for signs of his friend.

"Oh thank god!" One village man ran forward, grabbing hold of Sokka's shoulders. "There are so many people trapped down here! We need help!"

"The Firelord is sending help," Hakoda said, stepping forward and putting a hand on the mans arm. "He's rallying as many people as he can to try and coordinate a rescue attempt. What's your name?"

"Rohit."

"Rohit do you think you can get some of the civilians up there to help?"

Doubtfully Rohit looked up at the crowd above, rubbing his long beard. "I don't know, they've just been standing there. You'd think they'd have already come down to help if they were going to!"

Sokka cast the crowd a dark glare. He they were rushing into the find their friend and these group of sheep were just standing there, watching. It seemed that Xing Ying shared his sentiment because she suddenly stepped forward.

"There are people dying down here!" She yelled, fists bared. "Stop gawping like idiots and get down here and help, for spirit's sake!"

Shocked by the outburst from the small, orange robed girl below, they began to move, and Rohit raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that's one way to do it ..."

"Ok, come on we need to find Toph," Sokka interrupted. Leaving Rohit and the civilians behind they pressed deeper into the City, hurrying towards the harbor. Before long they were forced to hold their hands to their face as the heat from the many fires around them hit them. Sokka felt panic, there were so many people crying out for help, it was so hot, how could they find Toph?_ What if she was already-_ He shook his head, pushing forward until they finally found their way to the harbor.

"Toph!"

"Toooph!"

"Dekho! Dekho where are you?"

"We're going to have to split up," Hakoda said, coughing over the smoke. Sokka nodded, breathing hard. "Xing Ying come with me. Yee-Li stay with Sokka."

Sokka watched as his father and the acolyte hurried off, calling Toph's name as they went. It was worse here than he could have even imagined. The smell of burning and charred wood filled his nostrils, and his eyes burned over the smoke. He could barely see and here he was searching for his friend. One of his best friends. He pushed forwards, yelling her name the entire time, unable to comprehend that something bad had happened to her. She wasn't just any one ... she was Toph. The hardest, toughest person he knew. Nothing could touch her, surely? But then where was she?

"Toph!" He was practically screaming at this point, kicking aside rubble, searching in buildings. Yee-Li followed him, tears in her eyes and she called for her boyfriend. A bright flash hit his eyes from the base of one of the fallen buildings, and he turned on his heel. A small wooden shack, or certainly what was once a small wooden shack, lay smouldering and collapsed in a heap and then he saw, with beautiful clarity, a metal clad foot sticking out from the rubble.

"Toph!" He ran forward, dropping to his knees, grabbing the planks and throwing them wildly behind him. Then, mercifully, he saw her face, scratched and bloodied, but her face none the less. She lay unconscious under a heavy beam, saved only, it seemed, by the metal band she had round her waist. Groaning and sweating he tried to lift the beam, but with all his desperation it was much too heavy for him.

"Yee-Li!" He yelled. "Get help! Find my dad I can't lift this on my own!"

Wide eyed she called out Hakoda's name, covering her face as she stepped towards the smoke, only to find a figure push his way through.

"Dekho!" Immediately she threw herself into the arms of the scratched and scorched Lieutenant, who held her tightly back.

"Yee-Li, are you ok?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Oh I was so worried ..."

"Hey!" Sokka yelled, panting as he tried once more the move the beam. "Think you guys can give me a hand?"

Dekho hurried forward, gasping when he saw Toph underneath. "Toph! Is she alive? Is she ok?"

"She's alive," Sokka confirmed with relief. "But we won't know how ok until we can get this beam off her, so help me!"

Together Sokka and Dekho heaved, each grunting with the effort until, finally, the rubble fell aside and they were able to drop the beam off her, Sokka instantly dropping to her side, pushing the hair back from her face.

"Toph, Toph can you hear me?"

The earthbender remained still, and Sokka hesitantly felt over her body for breaks and injuries. His untrained hands felt the dampness at her side, before he pulled away to see his palm stained with blood. He paled, swallowing hard.

"We need to get he out of here, we need to get her to the Palace quick."

As he was lifting her Hakoda and Xing Ying rounded the corner, both gasping when they saw the unconscious earthbender in Sokka's arms, her hand hanging limply down her side.

"Wait, where's Heishi?" Xing Ying asked, looking towards Dekho. The man's face darkened and he looked to the floor.

"He didn't make it."

His words stunned them, and the group stood in silence for a moment, the realness of this horror weighing down hard on their shoulders and hearts. They knew people must have died in this ... but someone they knew? Sokka looked down at Toph's still face, covered in blood and shut his eyes tight.

"Well Toph will," he said firmly. "We need to get her to the healer. Now."

By the time they had made it to the Palace it was clear that Toph had lost a lot of blood. Her face was pale and, heart racing, Sokka rounded into the infirmary, shocked to find it empty.

"Zuko?"

"Where is everybody?" Xing Ying breathed.

"They must all be out there helping," Hakoda said grimly.

"But what about Toph?" Sokka practically screamed. "Where's the healer? She needs help. Now!"

"Where's the nearest infirmary?" Yee-Li asked Dekho. He sighed.

"Back in the north quadrant," he replied.

"But that's all the way back where we just came from!"

"Sokka, calm down, we can get here there, we just need to hurry-"

"But she's losing blood now!"

Suddenly they were all interrupted by a hacking cough, and a long drawn in breath, rusty and sore.

"Toph!"

Sokka lay her down on the bed. Her eyes blinked slowly, and she raised her hand. Heart hammering he took it, rubbing her face.

"Toph, shh, it's ok. You're ok."

"K-Kanto," she rasped. Sokka blinked.

"Uh ... what?"

"Kanto ... h-healer ..."

Sokka looked up at his father, who looked back with an equally surprised expression, wondering how Toph could possibly know whether or not the Northern man they held prisoner was a healer, or whether she was perhaps delusional.

"He's a bender?" Hakoda asked, unsure. But Toph had passed out again, her eyelids fluttering shut and her head dropping to the side.

"We don't have another choice," Sokka said, his voice shaky. "Dekho, do you have the authority to get him out of prison?"

Dekho nodded.

"Good, go get him."

"Dekho be careful, please," Yee-Li said, grabbing his hand as he turned. With a brave smile he kissed her forehead, before hurrying off.

"Hang in there, Toph," Sokka whispered, stroking her forehead. "Just hang in there."

It was a long twenty minutes later that Dekho finally returned, pulling a confused looking Kanto with him. The Northern man was still shackled, no doubt to stop him using this as an opportunity to run, but his wide eyed face made it clear that running was the last thing on his mind.

"You're a healer?" Sokka asked, stepping away from Toph for the first time and looking at the man who had kidnapped Katara. When he had learned that Kanto was in the Fire Nation he had demanded that he be let see him, give that man a piece of his mind, but both Hakoda and Zuko had refused, knowing that in Sokka's emotional state Kanto may end up getting a little more than just a piece of his mind. He had been furious with them, furious that the man who put Katara in so much danger, who had worked under Innua, who had made it possible for all of this to happen, was in the Fire Nation. But now, as he stood before the man he had wanted so much to hurt, all he could think of was Toph. She needed to get better. He couldn't lose her too. Wouldn't.

"Uh, I'm not a bender," Kanto said, looking worryingly between Sokka and the Chief. Sokka growled.

"What? So we wasted all this time and you're not even a healer?"

"No, I mean I'm not a healer like the benders are," Kanto said quickly. "But I'm well trained in practical methods, non bending healing."

"Well do you think you can help her?"

Sokka pointed towards Toph laying on the bed, pale and bleeding, and Kanto gasped.

"Wh-what happened to her?"

"Can you help or not?" Sokka snapped. The Northern man looked Toph up and down, swallowing, before he nodded.

"I'll do what I can." He raised his hands, gesturing to the shackles. "But I can't do anything with these."

"Sokka, are you sure-"

"Take them off," Sokka said to Dekho, ignoring his father. After a seconds hesitation, Dekho nodded, turning and unlocking the shackles Kanto let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his wrists for a moment before he hurried to Toph's side.

"Now what happened?"

"She was outside when the lightning started," Sokka replied, hurrying to Toph's other side. "A building collapsed on her. There was a heavy beam on her back but I think her metal waist belt saved her. But there's a deep wound on her side, I don't know what caused that but it's bleeding."

Carefully Kanto rolled her onto her side, feeling around the wound and then up and down her back.

"Good news, I don't think there's anything left inside and I can close it." Sokka and the others let out cries of relief. "But I'm going to need you to leave."

"Uh uh, I don't think so," Sokka snapped. "I'm not leaving you alone with her."

"Then you can stay but they have to leave," Kanto replied, nodding his head towards everyone else in the room.

"Why?" Sokka demanded.

"Well because a, I can't work with so many people crowding around me like this," Kanto replied shortly. "And b I need to take her top off, so for the sake of her dignity I think it'd be better if there wasn't a load of faces gawping at her."

Sokka narrowed his eyes and Kanto, looking between his broken nose and blue eyes, wondering which would be better to hit first, but there was a calm authoritativeness to the man's expression and he sighed.

"Fine," he grunted. "You guys wait outside. Maybe see if you can help anyone else."

"Sokka are you sure?" Hakoda said quietly.

"Look, I know you two least of all have any reason to trust me," Kanto said quietly. "But I want to help. That's why I came here in the first place. I won't hurt her."

Sokka nodded at his father, and with a brief tilt of his head Hakoda ushered everyone else from the room. When they were gone, he looked back at Kanto.

"Just so we're clear," he growled. "I haven't forgiven you, I won't ever forgive you, so you better help my friend or so help me you'll wish you never came to the Fire Nation."

Kanto nodded, before turning his attention to the metal belt round Toph's waist.

"Is there any way to get this off?" He asked. Sokka shook his head.

"It's one piece, she wraps it around herself with metal bending. Is that bad?"

"We'll just have to work around it," Kanto said quietly, before reaching over to the knife that stood on the side table. Sokka couldn't help but hold his breath as he saw Kanto place the knife so closely to Toph's skin, watching and ready for even the slightest sign of wrong doing from the son of a bitch. Quickly Kanto cut through her layers of clothing, until her side lay bare to them, revealing the ugly wound underneath. Sokka's stomach churned as he looked into the bloody hole in her side. Quickly Kanto hurried back to the table, pouring a disinfectant remedy all over his hands, bringing back the knife, threads and needles, dropping each into the disinfectant. Taking a deep breath, Kanto pressed against the wound, gently inserting a finger. Bile rose to Sokka's throat and he turned away, pressing his wrist to his mouth as he heard the sound of flesh moving.

"You ok there?" Kanto asked.

"Shut up," Sokka snapped in return.

After a few minutes Kanto spoke again, relief in his voice.

"I can't feel any shrapnel or anything else in there. Whatever stabbed her must have come out again."

"That's good right?" Sokka asked, finally feeling brave enough to look round.

"Yes," Kanto replied with a smile. "Very good!"

Sokka refused to return the smile, keeping his cool gaze on the Northern man as he proceeded to disinfect his hands once more, before threading the needle. Carefully, checking Toph's face for any reaction, Kanto inserted the first stitch, and each of them let out a sigh of relief when she didn't react.

"So how does she know you're a healer or whatever anyway?" Sokka asked. Kanto glanced up him quickly, before looking back down at his work.

"She came to see me," he replied, "in the prison. She wanted to know more about what happened to the Avatar."

Sokka frowned. He looked down at Toph's still face. Why hadn't she told him she'd gone to visit Kanto? She knew how badly he had wanted to see the the Northern bastard after all. And why hadn't she told him what had happened to Aang?

"No one seemed willing to give details as to exactly how the Avatar was injured," Kanto continued, seeing the look on Sokka's face. "I guess she was just worried about him."

"So ..." Sokka hesitated, swallowing. "How was Aang injured?" Kanto raised his eyebrows.

"You really want me to tell you when I'm stitching up your friend?" He asked, pointedly.

"Fine," Sokka grunted. He reached out and took Toph's hand, frighteningly cold, gently stroking the back of her palm.

"She must mean a lot to you," Kanto said quietly, as he tied off the fifth stitch.

"We've been through a lot," Sokka replied gruffly.

"I can imagine," Kanto muttered. "You know I was there back in at the Siege of the North?"

"Well, being from the Northern Water Tribe I suppose you had to be," Sokka scoffed.

"I remember thinking that you three were all so close," Kanto continued, as if he hadn't heard them. "I mean, you and your sister I get, but you treated the Avatar like he was your little brother."

Sokka frowned, thrown by the topic at discussion. "Well, he kinda is. He may have been a complete ass the past few months, but he's still family. Just as Toph is."

"That must be nice."

Sokka opened his mouth to reply, then paused. He wasn't sure what to make of what Kanto was saying ... this man that had kidnapped his sister talking about how nice it must be to have a family. But before he could think up a reply, Kanto put down the needle, pressing his hands against the wound again.

"Done, all stitched up. I've done my best, and there's still risk of infection, she'll need to take colloidal silver daily, and I'll make up a spray of that and honey to keep on the wound."

"Uh-"

"But the biggest problem we have now is her blood loss." Kanto looked up at her pale face. "She's lost a lot of blood, Sokka, possibly too much for her to recover on her own."

"So what do we do?" Sokka asked, his voice shaking.

"Transfusion." Kanto hurried over to the table, looking for tubes and needles. "Check the drawers, I need a long tube, needles ..."

After a seconds hesitation Sokka began to hunt though the drawers on the other side of the room. He came across a long thin tube, before holding it up for Kanto to see.

"Will this do?"

"Perfect."

Hurriedly Kanto grabbed it from him, sticking the needles in either side of the tube, wrapping bandage round to keep it secure, before grabbing her wrist and pressing the needle against it.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"I need to transfuse some of her blood with mine," Kanto replied, before slipping the needle into one of her veins. He then grabbed the other side, ready to stick the other needle into his own wrist.

"Whoa, hey no not yours," Sokka snapped, holding his wrist forward. Kanto frowned.

"And what's your blood type?"

"Uhh ... red? Ain't everyone's?"

"We'll use mine," Kanto sighed, sticking the needle into his vein before Sokka could react. For a moment nothing happened, and then Sokka watching in amazement as blood began to seep from Kanto and down the tube into Toph.

"Whoa ..."

"Aren't you supposed to be some brilliant genius?" Kanto asked.

"Well I don't know about brilliant," Sokka replied with a grin. "Super amazing, maybe. And just because I can build ships and come up with fantastic ideas you could only dream of doesn't mean I know how to do a tranfusey or whatever it was."

"Transfusion."

"Yeh that. She'll be ok, right?"

Kanto looked up at him. "If the transfusion takes, which it should do, then yeh. The metal belt saved her for sure, so she might be bruised and sore for a while but yeh, she should be ok."

"And ... how long before she wakes up?"

"That I can't tell you. But hopefully soon."

Sokka turned his gaze back to his friend. Seeing Toph so vulnerable, so broken, had been just about the most terrifying thing in the world. More terrifying than Tonrar bearing down on them. Even more terrifying that Aang in the Avatar State and out of control. She had always seemed untouchable, the strongest of all of them despite her disability, and the one who had rallied them together when things had got tough and everyone had turned against Aang. Without Toph he wasn't sure anything in this world would make much sense any more ... she was their rock.

"Thank you," Sokka said quietly. Kanto looked up in surprise. "As I said, I don't forgive you. You took my sister from me and now she's in another world entirely. But thank you for helping Toph."

Kanto nodded. "You're welcome. I couldn't let her die." A silence followed before, at length, Kanto spoke again.

"You don't need to believe me, or trust me, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt your sister. Innua is dangerous, and I didn't know what else I could do when she got your father's letter." He hesitated, and Sokka looked up at him. "For what it's worth, your sister is strong. If she was able to heal the Avatar after what happened to him ... I don't think you need to worry about her."

Sokka sighed, his thoughts turning to Katara. Where was she now? How close were she and Aang to finding Tonrar? To beating him. The electric storm proved to him, without a shadow of a doubt, that Aang hadn't been mistaken when he said that the world was ending, and that the end was getting closer. But how could he sit and hope that Katara was facing Tonrar right now without wishing she were in danger? But it wasn't just him any more ... there was Nerri, his beautiful baby girl who had come into a world of destruction and anguish and uncertainty. She would have been better off being born in the middle of the Hundred Year War. He had faith that Katara would do all she could ... but there was so much standing against her, and bitterly he couldn't help but wonder whether Aang could also be one of those things ... he had been beaten by Tonrar, he had been a completely different man over the last 5 months. Could he gain control of himself? Could he take back whatever it was that Tonrar had stolen from him? Once more his gaze turned back to his friend lying on the bed. He had refused to believe that this could be the end of them, but as the strongest person he knew lay unconscious on the table, he couldn't help but fear that, maybe, it was.

**A/N: I can't believe that it's been 11 whole months since I posted the first chapter of Book 4 on ! It will be the Spirits Trilogy anniversary on the 22nd of August, so I'm working through my notes to try and make sure that the chapter posted for you guys on that day will be extra special ... so any requests of little things you'd like me to slip in there now's the time! I should add though that lemons and things wouldn't really work with the story line given that pesky Avatar Spirit, so I can't slip anything citrusy in folks, sorry :P**

**Anyway! Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter and for sticking by me through everything 3**


	11. Chapter 11

"No, no, NO. You stepped onto your right leg. Again. Are you a complete idiot?"

"Sansetsu I'm trying!" Aang yelled, panting, sweat dripping down his body. "But for the past eighteen years I've always favoured my right. You can't just unlearn those things in a few days!"

"Weeks," Sansetsu snapped. "We've been doing this for weeks now. And you've barely improved at all!"

The past Avatar and the present had indeed been training for the best part of two weeks now, each day going through the same drills. Aang would do strength training, working on his core and building his body back up to the condition it had been in before, and then they would work on his speed and mobility, dodging attacks from Sansetsu, racing against him from one side of the city to the other on top of the roofs and on the ground, and though his strength was indeed gaining, he still came up short against the past Avatar. Sansetsu, instead of using Katara's method of positive enforcement, mocked and criticised, pushing Aang harder and harder until, finally, he felt like he was going to snap. They had just started their mobility training, this time Sansetsu stabbing at him with a long stick and getting him to dodge. But Aang's instinct to dodge and dodge fast seemed to over ride his mind when it came to focusing on which leg to step from, and over and over he would make the same mistake, getting more infuriated with himself each time.

"Well then maybe I am an idiot!" Aang snapped. "Maybe this is just one big waste of time!" Angrily he threw one of his hands behind him, collapsing one of the marble arches, causing a cloud of dust to rise up above him. Katara, who had been practicing her own bending by the fountain looked over in alarm whilst Sansetsu growled. Angrily the past Avatar spat on the ground, before charging up to his pupil.

"And what exactly was the point in that?" He snarled, almost nose to nose with Aang. Furiously Aang glared up into the larger airbender's eyes. "It's not that damn hard to get. Press off with your left-" he poked Aang hard in the left temple. "Not your right." He then poked the right.

"Quit it," Aang growled.

"Or what?" Sansetsu teased, poking him again, this time on the nose.

"I said quit it!"

"What are you going to do about it, pipsqueak, huh?"

"Sansetsu ..." Katara called out a warning, seeing the anger blazing on Aang's face and the way his fists were beginning curl. But Sansetsu continued to prod him.

"What is a short, pathetic failure like you going to do to stop me?"

"I said stop!" Aang raised his hands, marble rising and rushing in from the sides, encasing itself around Sansetsu and, with a yell Aang pushed back, the rock careering back into another marble arch, carrying Sansetsu with it. With a crack he smashed against the archway, the white stones collapsing on top of him, burying the airbender underneath. Panting heavily Aang dropped his arms to his side, eyes wide.

"That was uncalled for."

With a certain relief Aang jumped, turning to see Sansetsu standing behind him, brushing down his robes.

"Are you crazy?" Aang cried. "What if I had gone into the Avatar State?"

"But you didn't."

"No but if I had-"

"No no you're missing my point," Sansetsu said, rolling his eyes as if speaking to a child. "You _didn't_ go into the Avatar State. And I think I'm right in thinking that a month ago you would have done."

Aang blinked, looking round at the pile of rubble that was once an archway. He was right, Sansetsu had baited him before, and he wasn't nearly as angry then as he had been today. He looked down at his hands frowning.

"Well looks we have been making progress after all." Sansetsu clapped his hands together, winking over at Katara who shot him a stoney look. "Just not where we was expecting to."

Aang looked over to Katara, surprised, who smiled back softly.

"Yeh yeh, celebrate. But for the love of all infuriated Avatar's in the fucking spirit world over can you please put your weight on you left damn leg!"

Aang winced. "Look, I said I was trying. It's just not easy to retrain myself to push off from the left when I'm so used to kicking off from the right."

Sansetsu shook his head, walking back up to Aang, before pushing him, hard, to the left.

"Now, what did you just do then?" He asked as Aang steadied himself.

"I used my left leg to push back," Aang answered, irritably. Then, quick as a flash Sansetsu pushed him to the right, and with a sharp hiss of pain Aang steadied himself.

"Anf what did you do then?"

"I used my right," Aang snapped. "But you're pushing me to the right! If I don't steady myself you'll knock me over."

With an annoyed growl, Sansetsu raised his right leg, crossing it over his left knee. "Ok, push me to the right."

Aang couldn't help but hesitate. Sansetsu was much bigger than him, and truthfully he wasn't sure if he could even get the man to budge. After a moments hesitation he pushed against the past Avatar's shoulder and predictably, he didn't move.

"Oh for spirit's sake I said push!"

Aang stepped back then charged, throwing all his weight into Sansetsu's side and, as soon as he made contact, he felt his arms grabbed, his body propelled, before landing heavily on the stone floor. Aang looked up, coughing dust, to see Sansetsu still standing, perfectly centered.

"See, I didn't need my right leg at all there," he said, with a certain smugness. "I used your weight to pull me over just enough to the left, and then I let my body take over. I have a strong enough core that I could take you with just one leg. Easy."

"Ok, lemme try that." Aang immediately climbed to his feet, lifting his right leg and crossing it over his thigh. Katara had let her water rest back in the fountain, settling herself down to watch the action, and Aang flashed her a confident smile, cheered from his ability to avoid the Avatar State despite Sansetsu's mocking behaviour. _Perhaps he had made progress after all. Perhaps this was all worth while._ Then, Sansetsu pushed him, and Aang swiftly fell to his right windmilling his arms to gain his balance, before landing with an oof on the ground.

"Oh sweet fucking bison I am training a child."

Aang climbed to his feet once more, brushing himself down. "I don't get why I can't do this!" He cried. "I got these-" he pointed to the tattoo on his forehead "-at twelve years old. I've always been faster than anyone else. This should come easy to me!"

"Aang, don't be so hard on yourself," Katara said, cutting in before Sansetsu could speak, shooting him down with a pointed glare. "Tonrar injured you badly, and there was only so much I could do to heal you. It's natural that it should take you a while to get back to the level you used to be at."

"I know but I've been training for weeks. I should be able to do this by now."

With a long suffering sigh Sansetsu put his hand over his forehead. "Well then maybe we're not approaching this the right way," he said quickly, his teeth visibly grinding. Katara raised her eyebrows.

"Is that Avatar Sansetsu admitting he might have it wrong?" She asked with a mock gasp. Sansetsu lowered his hand, glaring at her from over the top of his wrist.

"No, I'm teaching him exactly right, it's not my problem if pipsqueak here is a shitty airbender." Aang only glared.

"Let me take over."

Aang and Sansetsu both looked over at her in surprise.

"You?" The past Avatar let out a bark of laughter. "No offense hunny but you have no idea what you're doing."

"I know better than you," Katara snapped. "I taught Aang waterbending, and as a waterbender yourself you should know that waterbending is as much about having a solid core as it is about footwork. Plus, I know how to teach Aang, you don't have a clue!"

Sansetsu looked between the pair, licking his top teeth before finally conceding. "Ok then. Go ahead." He walked over to the fountain, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other, leaning back into the palm of his hands. "I can't wait to see this."

"Katara are you sure?" Aang asked doubtfully.

"Don't let him get to you," Katara replied, rotating him so that his back was facing the airbender. "That's your first lesson."

"Oh great one," Sansetsu called. "Pro tip number one, I can't wait for the second! Let me guess, sticks and stones? Words can't hurt you, pipsqueak!"

Katara ignored him, keeping her focus on Aang. "We'll just go through some basic waterbending forms, ok?"

"Will that help?" Aang asked, feeling bad for doubting his former teacher. But Katara just smiled at him.

"We'll see." She raised her hands, and Aang mirrored her moves as flawlessly as he had always done, the pair rotating gracefully around each other as they went through all the basic forms. Aang immediately felt more at ease with the familiarity of it, and being able to watch the master of waterbending at work. Smiling Katara encouraged him to continue, and before long they had moved into more difficult forms. From the sideline Sansetsu watched, eyes narrowed and mouth pouting, and it wasn't until they moved to a quicker tempo that Aang realised that Katara had adjusted her movements from the beginning, her left leg becoming her primary as she worked the forms to suit her and he, so in tune with the way that they moved together, had copied her exactly. Surprised he looked down at his feet, then back up at her.

"Hey I'm doing it!"

Katara spun faster, and elated Aang copied her footwork, the feeling suddenly becoming as natural to him as breathing when, at once, Katara changed tactic, sliding forward forward to his left and pushing against him. Swiftly Aang grabbed her, spinning her round, his hand cradling her back as he did so, dipping her to the ground, and all the while he remained perfectly centered. She grinned up at him, and Aang couldn't resist swooping and kissing her gently on the lips, before pulling them upright.

"See? I told you," Katara said smugly, looking over at the dumbfounded past Avatar. "I know how to teach Aang."

"Well sure, I mean I wasn't about to dance with him was I?" Sansetsu snapped, glowering at the pair. "And kissing is completely out of the picture. I mean you try anything on with me, pipsqueak, and you'll lose something."

"Can't you just admit when you're wrong?" Aang sighed.

"I wasn't wrong." Sansetsu got to his feet.

"How about you take care of the spiritual stuff," Katara suggested. "And I'll take care of his physical rehabilitation."

"Oh I'm sure you will," the past Avatar huffed. "Fine, whatever, whatever gets this sorry nightmare over and done with quickest is fine by me."

They could possibly be the most beautiful words that Aang had ever heard, and he felt relief wash over him when he realised that he no longer had to be kicked and poked by the larger Avatar. But the spiritual side? Something told Aang that that wasn't going to be nearly as fun as having Katara as a teacher once more.

"Tell you what, you've made some good progress today, why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Aang and Katara blinked at each other, before Aang put his finger in his ear, twisting and shaking his head. "Say what?"

"I said take a break! Don't make such a big fucking deal out of it, it won't happen again."

"Well, I suppose we do need to find some more food," Katara said.

"Yeh yeh, you go do your mortal things," Sansetsu said and, with a wave of his hand he was gone. Aang looked across as Katara.

"So that's what happens when you show him up," he said then, with a bright grin, he held out his hand for her. "Let's go check out the northern part of the city. We've not been up that far yet and there's got to be some gardens we've not picked through yet."

It felt good, no more than good, to just relax for a little while. The pair walked hand in hand along the marble pathways, pushing their way through the overgrown gardens, stopping at fountains for a drink, Aang playfully splashing water at her only to get beaten at his own game. It had been a long time that they had a chance to just be a couple, being together, laughing, and given the amount of hits their relationship had taken over the past year it was much needed. In time they came across a part of the city they had yet to salvage for fruit and berries, and they set about gathering food into the pouches they had brought, both sneaking the odd ripe fruit as they went.

"It's good to see you smiling again," Katara said as they straightened, regrouping by the gardens fence.

"I could say the same to you," Aang replied, stepping close and taking her hands. "I'm so sorry that I've been so difficult to deal with," he whispered. "I know how hard it's been on you, on everyone."

"Shh, it's not your fault, Aang." She leaned up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss against his cheek. "You know, I love that I have to do that now."

"What, pipsqueak not do it for you?" Aang asked playfully. She giggled, nestling her face into his chest, taking in a deep breath.

"We probably don't have long before we have to get back to reality," she said quietly.

"Yeh, probably not," Aang conceded with a sigh. "But, I _have_ made progress today. I promised you I would fix this, Katara, and I will." He looked down, gently angling her face upwards to her with her chin. "And hey, just think about what we'll get to go back to. Suki and Sokka must be parents by now."

"I wonder what they named her ..."

"Did they have any names in mind?" Suddenly, Katara hesitated, her face blushing.

"Well, they were thinking of Kya, after my mother."

"It is a beautiful name."

"But I think they've kind of saved that one for me."

Aang's heart jumped, and soon he too had a bright blush across his face, the two of them avoiding each others gaze bashfully.

"Yeh, yeh that makes sense."

He glanced down to see her grinning into his chest, still trying to hide her blushing face, and he leaned down to press a kiss against her forehead.

"I love you, Katara."

She looked up, their eyes connecting, and a brilliant smile lit her face, and the pair leaned into one another, falling into a kiss. Aang knew that soon the sun would fade and they would be cast into a dark world of uncertainty, a future of pain and maybe even loss ahead of them, but for now they had each other, he had her. _Her_. The one person that mattered most to him in all of the world. Softly they broke away, looking lovingly into each others eyes.

"Come on, we've walked pretty far and the sun could go down soon," Katara said reluctantly, and Aang nodded, keeping hold of her hand as they began to walk back to the courtyard at the entrance to the city.

They were half way back when they found themselves face to face with something like out of a nightmare. Still giggling to one another, enjoying their small time alone before they ended up back at the courtyard, they almost didn't notice until they were right on top of it, Aang immediately, stepping in front of Katara, his hands raised in defense. The tall black figure before them stood hunched, large slitted eyes glowing orange across its round face, with at least 6 pairs of arms raised up above its head. Until now they hadn't thought to consider that another spirit may actually find its way into the city, in fact Aang had believed, being Tonrar's prison, there was no way another spirit would even approach this place. But as the dark spirit with the wide orange eyes screamed a metallic scream, it became reality very fast. And what also became reality was that Aang was not safe here, not from Tonrar.

"Katara, go, you have to go!"

"Wh-Aang I'm not leaving you!"

"Katara you h- argh!" The pain spread across his skull, and he fell to the ground, the spirit leaning in close. "Please! Katara please go!"

Then, mercifully, just as Aang felt the angry spirit inside him sensing its chance, the howls of the creature before them turned from screams of triumph to that of pain, and through eyes full of painful tears Aang looked up. Sansetsu stood before him, his body glowing with a blue light as he raised his arms, the spirit shrinking back under his blaze before, as quick as it came, it vanished, the pain in Aang's head going along with it, and he collapsed, gasping on the stone floor.

"Aang!" Katara ran forward, falling to her knees beside him. "What happened? What just happened?!"

Sansetsu looked back at them, his face a stoney facade.

"Tonrar knows we're here."

"What? But how?"

"There was always a chance that he could find us in this place," Sansetsu replied quietly. "I just hoped he would be too busy to notice."

"Too busy to notice? What are you talking about?"

"Can you stand?"

Sansetsu's question was directed at Aang and, with a stiff nod, he began to climb to his feet, Katara steadying him. Tonrar had found him, and he presumed he was no where near him ... but still he had managed to have so strong an affect on him, if Sansetsu hadn't arrived in time then he would be in the Avatar State right now. And Katara could be dead.

"What do we do?" Aang croaked. Sansetsu growled.

"We have to get out of here." Suddenly Sansetsu lunged out, angrily kicking the wall of the building beside him. "Dammit this place was fucking perfect! Perfect!"

"There will be somewhere else," Aang said shortly, holding his head, the shadow itch of Tonrar's control still present.

"Don't be stupid," Sansetsu snapped.

"Is it getting dark?"

Aang and Sansetsu froze, looking up at the sky. Sure enough, the sky was growing dark, but rapidly so, almost as if a shadow was closing in on all sides, suffocating and vehement. Frantically Aang threw his hand over Katara's eyes.

"Hey-"

"Don't look," Aang said. "Keep your eyes shut don't look!"

The glow began to build up around them, the sky an inky black where it had been sunny and bright only a minute earlier. Quietly, Aang and Sansetsu shrank against the building, Aang pulling Katara with him.

"We need to get inside," Aang hissed.

"No," Sansetsu shook his head, watching as the glow grew brighter. "Tonrar knows we're here, and now so do they."

"They? Aang what's going on? Who's out there?"

"Sweetie please keep your eyes shut, you can't look, ok? No matter what you do you can't open your eyes."

"We need to leave." Sansetsu stepped away from the wall, looking down the stairs that led to the main courtyard. Hesitantly Aang moved forward, the colour draining from his face when he saw the previously vacant souls clustering together, making their way up the staircase towards them, eyes and mouths wide. "We need to leave now, they're coming for her."

"Who?" Katara insisted, sounding panicked. "Aang what's going on?"

"Shh, shh," Aang walked in front of her, keeping his hand pressed against her eyes. "Katara, I need to take my hand away to get you out of here. Please, just promise me, you need to keep your eyes shut, don't even peak. I'm not going to lose you in here, ok?"

Katara seemed to be shaking, both with fear and anger, and Aang leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Trust me, ok?" After a moment, Katara nodded, and slowly Aang took his hand away from her eyes.

"Guys, wrap it up wrap it up, we don't have time for this!"

Aang looked round to see the souls swarming close, making sickening gasping noises as if they were trying to scream out to them, and quickly he wrapped his arm around Katara.

"Hold on tight."

Quickly he jumped up, using his airbending to propel him onto the roof of the building beside them. From here he could see the full extent of the onslaught, with what looked like hundreds of glowing souls heading towards them from each of the courtyards across the city. With one last look at Katara to make sure she had kept her eyes shut, he jumped once more, climbing higher until he was finally able to make the leap from one of the taller towers to the city wall. Below them the desert floor was no longer visible, without the shine of a moon to illuminate anything, and even Aang found himself feeling a little vertigo. Sansetsu was stood beside him, looking down into the desert, and Aang noticed a solemn look across his face as he regarded the darkness below. His right foot wavered over the edge and, his eyes flashing meaningfully, he looked across at Aang. For the first time he felt he understood, understood that there was a connection between this city and the past Avatar, something so strong that he had never the heart or strength to leave it in all the six hundred years he had tried to free these souls. With a quick nod, Aang looked back down and, taking a deep breath, he jumped.

~

In silence the threesome had walked, their feet dragging and slipping on the surface of the desert below, their path illuminated by a fluttering heartbeat of fire in Aang's palm. Sansetsu, though he could have no doubt vanished and left his two mortal companions to walk the desert alone, remained with them. Aang kept a tight hold on Katara's hand, having refused to let go since they made their painful contact with the sand after jumping from the city wall, and she dragged slightly behind him, her eyes somewhat glazed over and she struggled to understand what had just happened to them.

As soon as he had heard Aang confirming in the darkness that he and Katara had landed safely, Sansetsu had told them that under no circumstances were they to make a sound, permitting Aang to light only the smallest fire before them. At first Katara had protested, wanting to know what was going on, but irritably the past Avatar had hushed her, storming out across the desert, Aang grabbing Katara's hand and hurrying after him.

They had been walking for what must have been the best part of two hours now. Aang and Katara were exhausted, they had no rest since the night before, though lucky their bag of fruit and berries remained over their shoulders, fresh water from the city fountains in their pouches. Aang couldn't allow himself to wonder what they would have done if they hadn't had a chance to grab food first. The desert was wide, it had taken them two days to reach the city, and no doubt it would take just as long, if not longer, to find their way out again. And now Tonrar was after them, no doubt spreading his search via his network of spirits under his control. Aang hoped that, what with the city being Tonrar's prison of stolen souls, it was only there that he could find them so easily, and now that they were walking farther and farther from there they would be more difficult to find. But the spirit world was still such a mystery to him. It could be that now they would be on the run from Tonrar permanently until Aang was able to defeat him. Or try to. He felt Katara slip, her hand wrenching against his, and he stopped, looking back. Grumbling incoherently she got back to her feet.

"Sansetsu?" Aang asked, his voice quiet and unsure.

The large Avatar stopped, looking back over his shoulder at them.

"We can't stop yet," he replied. "We're far enough from the city that we should be safer for the time being, but this desert is too dangerous to set up camp in."

"And this desert is huge," Aang explained, as patiently as he could. "We're going to need to stop soon, Katara is ti-"

"I'm ok," she interjected. "I just slipped."

Sansetsu watched them silently, before looking forward once more.

"We haven't got far to go," he said at length. "Maybe another hour at your pace until shelter."

Doubtfully Aang watched as Katara pushed past him, her eyes fixed ahead, both miserable and determined. Sadly Aang followed, allowing his flame to burn a little brighter for them.

It was nearer to an hour and a half before Sansetsu finally stopped his tireless walk across the desert. As Aang approached his position the shimmering light from his flame illuminated the side of a large boulder, the stone's smoothed surface a deep sickening red. The sand and wind had eroded this over the millenium too, but luckily it still stood large enough for Aang to be able to make them a good shelter. They were thrown into a momentary darkness as Aang dropped the flame, his feet slamming into the ground and arms pushing as he pulled the rock forward and out, forming a large tent. Quickly he lit another flame, checking back to make sure that Katara was still close by. In silence Katara climbed in, and Aang followed, Sansetsu then seating himself at the entrance to the cave, his back to the desert outside.

They had no supplies, no firewood, and only berries for to eat, and sitting on the uncomfortable sand in their cold cave, Aang couldn't stop a sense of despair from washing over him. In the city he could at least keep Katara comfortable, if not completely safe, but now they were neither of those things. Katara herself had leaned back against the stone wall, one knee bent up as her other leg lay across the floor, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed as she looked between the pair. But before Aang could speak, she cut over him.

"So what happened back there?" She demanded, her voice as cool as her gaze. At first it seemed like Sansestu wouldn't answer, looking at the sand upon which they sat, before the large Avatar took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"Tonrar found us," he replied. "He found us and he sent that spirit after you."

"And how did he find us?" Katara continued. "I thought we were supposed to be safe there." She clenched her fists. "The spirits or the world or whatever didn't have any affect on me in there, doesn't that mean that the spirits can't get to that place?"

"The reason that the spiritual energy of the place wasn't overwhelming you in that city is because the city was designed to be that way," Sansetsu replied calmly. "It's designed to appear as a safe haven for anyone lost in the spirit world, but it's not. I just hoped that Tonrar wouldn't find us there."

"I don't understand," Katara's voice was tipped in irritation, and Aang could tell that she was already starting to feel the pressure of the energy around her. "Why make it appear safe if it's not?"

Sansetsu raised an eyebrow, before grunting. "You really have to ask me that?"

"So ... the city is a trap," Katara breathed. "A trap for what? For who? Why would you lead Aang into a trap?"

Aang caught the curl of Sansetsu's lip and the irritation in his expression and decided to interrupt, leaning forward in the sand.

"The city was created by humans a long time ago," he said. "Humans who decided to make their home in the spirit world." Katara looked over at him, her brow furrowed. "But at some point the spirits decided they didn't want the humans there any more, and began to drive them out. Tonrar was one of those spirits, Katara. And he trapped their souls in that city, turned it into his prison, and he's been luring humans there ever since."

The waterbender's breath caught in her throat, and she looked at him with wide eyes, before whirling on Sansetsu.

"You had Aang go to Tonrar's prison?" She hissed incredulously. "His _prison_ and you didn't expect him to find us?!"

"Well I've been there the past six hundred years and he'd not found me," Sansesu yelled in response, his own fists curling, his mouth a snarl.

"But Tonrar wasn't after you!" Her voice was high and angered. "Tonrar has no interest in you!"

"And even when he did he couldn't find me there!"

The change in atmosphere was instant. Sansetsu breathed in sharply, eyes widening and his hands freezing. Aang's attention snapped towards the old Avatar sat in front of him, his heart leaping to his throat as it seemed as though the temperature had dropped from cold to freezing in the cave, and he felt almost light headed in the realisation.

"Tonrar was after you?"

Aang's voice was low, his grey eyes burning in the fire light as he looked over at his fellow aribender.

"That's why you were sent instead of Roku."

Sansetsu remained silent, his own silver eyes staring steadily into Aang's as his hands dropped down into his lap.

"Which means you managed to stop him from controlling you."

At that, Sansetsu looked away, his eyes flicking the sand, fists curling.

"You have to tell me how," Aang demanded, his voice rising. "You have to tell me everything."

"You can't stop him the way I did." The past Avatar's voice was hushed, his tone for once sober and lacking in its usual vehemence. "That's not even an option for you any more."

Frustrated Aang exchanged a glance with Katara. "Why? If it worked for you, why not me?"

"Because things have progressed too far," Sansetsu snapped, shooting Aang an irritated glare. "When I was dealing with Tonrar it was only through me that he could hope to gain control of the mortal world. But now he has a tear between universes and, frankly, I don't even know why he needs you any more."

"But if he can't control me then I can find a way to get him out of Koh's body!" Aang continued. "And if Koh can fix the tear then it's over ..." He paused, heart hammering, unable to understand why Sansetsu wouldn't tell him how he had stopped Tonrar controlling him. "You need to tell me what you did to stop him, Sansetsu. Please."

Sansetsu's cold glare softened momentarily, and the large airbender studied the younger's face. Katara sat beside him, her own expression earnest, though a definite fatigue shadowed her bright blue eyes. They both watched as Sansetsu sighed, raising a hand to rub it across his face, now a picture of pained acceptance.

"You remember how I told you that every Avatar faces his own big bad?" He asked. Aang nodded.

"And I asked you who yours was."

Sansetsu raised his head, chin high yet eyes clouded with misery. "I suppose it's time I told you my tale." He took a deep breath, the fire of the cave reflecting in his somber eyes, and started. "I never wanted to be the Avatar ..."

**A/N: Apologies for the shortness of this chapter ... the next couple are going to be pretty intense!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello readers!**

**I'm not sure how many of you are still about, but I realise that it's been a long long time since I updated this story, and I apologise for that. Simply put, life got busy! I fell ill, I had to quit my job, and I started working self employed full time. Running a business is very difficult, finding time to do anything that isn't related to the business is even harder! And as such, every time I finally found the time to sit down and right, I was just too exhausted and the inspiration wasn't there.**

**I reread the Spirits Trilogy recently, and in light of the new comics, and my writing style and understanding of the character maturing over time, I decided that there's a lot that needs changing. Some of the ways characters have behaved has been far too OOC, too far from canon. There are early elements and side plots that got abandoned entering the second book, and aspects that I haven't been able to work in as smoothly as I should have. Essentially, I read this story back to myself and thought 'I could do better.'**

**Having rewatched ATLA and Korra this month, along with reading the comics again and lots of fanfics, I seem to have found my mojo again. So, instead of continuing with a story that I feel like I'm fighting against, I've decided that I will rewrite the Spirits Trilogy.**

**I appreciate that, for those of you who did follow this story through, this could be frustrating. But equally, for new readers, this is only a good thing! I just hope that fans of the original series appreciate that I'm only trying to make this story better.**

**I am on the 4th chapter of the rewrite (each chapter is now averaging around 7k words!) and I will be uploading shortly.**

**Again, I apologise for those who were waiting to see how this story turned out. Don't worry, I will finish this tale. But let's make it better than before.**

**My humble gratitude,**

**Kuaishu**


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